Korean Job Discussion Forums

[theloneleaf]

[nick70100]

I'm sure no one here has been to every single branch of any bank so it's pointless to argue about "English service" since it varies so much from location to location. That being said, I think all the big banks have English phone numbers these days.

While people are still going to complain I'm sure, the banks here have really come a long way since I first came to Korea. Back then no banks had internet banking in English. And getting a credit card or debit card that worked internationally was more or less impossible at every single bank.

Also, no one has mentioned IBK yet. Good English website and phone service. I've had no problem getting international cards from them. They also have two branches that are open 365 days a year (Itaewon and Ansan). Obviously not useful if you don't live near those places, but I don't think any other bank in Korea is trying that sort of thing.

[marsavalanche]

[akcrono]

[hogwonguy1979]

think this whole thread is useless unless you mention specific branches. some banks that people say are crap may be excellent depending on location. if you get a manager or teller who speaks good english it will make a ton of difference.

[morrisonhotel]

[Porksta]

I use Hana bank, no problems here. I am not charged for ATM usage, but I only use Hana ATMs, so maybe that is why. I just wish they took coins for currency conversion. My branch (Balsan) speaks decent enough English, and my requests have been simple so speaking really isn't needed.

[ThingsComeAround]

For the OP:

sorry you had such a bad experience dealing with KB. I found them to be so-so at best, when asking them about a credit card, they also insisted I give a deposit (even though I worked at a public school). However, when leaving the country why wouldn't they insist you cancel your credit card? They aren't stupid. You aren't a national of Korea and they know you may or may not return- possibly making them lose any loans they give you.

For marsavalanche:

Why all the venom? I can understand the frustration from the OP enough to give a rebuttal without insults. It is true that you can open a KB account with a tourist visa, but foreigners on an E-2 visa may not apply for a credit card without putting down a security deposit. My KB branch (since merged with one down the block) asked if my account was over a year old, and it was. Then they asked if it had over 2 mil and it did. Then they came back with "foreigner" and I was denied. When that happens, it is frustrating. It doesn't even seem legal, but we feel like helpless victims.

KB- 6 I like how there are plenty of branches all over the place. I don't like how their savings account is low (~3%)
KEB- 8 Loving the internet remittance feature. They aren't my main bank because their savings is also poor and off-hours withdrawl fees are a tad higher, and there arent many branches
Shinhan- 7 Meh. It seems they have the prettiest tellers.. also their savings account is better than KB. (~3.3-3.5%)

[ZIFA]

[ZIFA]

[sallymonster]

I have 2 bank accounts, one for personal use and one for my meetup group. The first one is at KB and the latter is at Woori. I don't have any credit cards and my banking needs are pretty simple.

I like both banks because their check cards get me discounts on things, and I use these discounts often. Like when I went to Caribbean Bay last June, my KB check card got me 30% off. I'm the only foreigner at my hagwon who doesn't have KEB. Why not? Because as far as I know, KEB check cards don't have a lot of awesome discounts attached to them.

Oh, and while finding a decent English speaker was always difficult at the KB branch in Maegyo-dong, Suwon, I never had any trouble getting decent English service at the Woori Banks at Suwon and Beomgye Stations.

[s10czar]

NongHyop
I'm down in Jeollanamdo where NongHyup is pretty much the only game in town. I hate this bank with a passion.

ENGLISH: -2
No one speaks English in either of the 2 branches located in my town- that gets them a 0. Worse, they then presume you can speak Korean. That gets the negative rating.

ONLINE: 0
I asked about it once. The reply was "oohh???"

WIRE TRANSFER: 2
They've gotten 2 out of 3 done so I guess I can give them some points here. I'd give them more points but won't because they still charged me fees on the wire transfer that was screwed up. The wiring instructions I provided them were verified and correct so I know that wasn't the issue.

CREDIT CARD: -100
Stay tuned for my posting on age discrimination

[big_fella1]

The experience does vary from branch to branch and teller to teller. More banks are competing for the business of foreigners, but this doesn't always filter down to the branch level.

I believe one large bank who is making the right noises about foreigners has a human rights complaint against it being investigated at the moment because the teller pulled the 3 month wait nonsense for an ATM card.

Korean bank staff cannot be fired so some will be downright racist, but they are also protected by the "suspicious customer defense". It's just a coincidence that every suspicious customer they flag happens to be foreign.

I can't rate any branch or bank in particular as I have to deal with several but when I find a good teller, I do return to them.

[Jane]

I've dealt with Woori and Kookmin the most since being in Korea. Both banks are average, but at least they have a lot of ATMs around.

I'm still sore over a visit once to Kookmin:

Me: Hi, I would like to sign up for Internet banking. How do I do that?

Bank manager: Internet banking? Why? You are a foreigner! (a look of incredulity on her face)

Both banks seemed targeted at the middle aged segment and Kookmin in particular seems to do well in lower income areas of Seoul.

[ZIFA]