Korean Job Discussion Forums

[oatmeal]

One of my accounts is with KEB, and they are pretty good except the fact there aren't many locations. In my case, the nearest KEB branch is about 30 minute drive away (but I don't have a car, so make that 1 hour + bus ride).

They are closed by 4pm M-F and what I don't understand is how is anyone supposed to be able to go in-person unless either skipping work or asking for a day off just to do simple banking?? It's absolutely ridiculous!

I can do daily banking online which is not the issue. What I want to do is simply cancel one of my termed-deposit accounts that was originally locked in for a 1 year term. It auto withdraws 1 mil from my account each month to put it into this termed deposit account and so after 12 months, it will have 12 mil won and I can get exactly 127,000 won from interest for it. Investing 12 mil won to make 127,000 ($127 ) seems like peanuts and now I need that money instead but I can't have it released unless I personally visit a branch and cancel that account.

Argh, they can't do it over the phone even though I can provide them all security info, ID, bank numbers, password, etc. It's just part of their "policy" that I have to physically be there in person to close the account. Doesn't make sense! There's nothing that I couldn't provide and prove more in person than over the phone except to visually show them my sexy body. WTH? Can someone explain how physically being there makes it more verifiable and justifiable? Now, if we were living in times where they did eye scans, dna reading, finger scans, to verify my identity, then I could understand. But we don't. When I opened the account, they don't take my picture to make sure it's always me when I come back.
There is really nothing that the physical presence of having someone be in the branch office provides as more proof or evidence of a real valid secure verification.

I'm sure most foreigners can just go on lunch break or something if the bank is across your street, but being that mine is in an entirely nother city and I have no car, I can't go at lunch hour. The only way I can go is on my working hours, but maybe I can do it on a day where I have no classes the whole day until 1pm.

[optik404]

Are you seriously asking why a bank won't close out an account over the phone?

[dairyairy]

OP, one of the benefits of working and living in cities is easier access to services. It's one of those topics that applicants often don't consider when accepting rural jobs.





BTW, if anyone ever needs to wire money on a weekend you can do it at the IBK in Itaewon next to the subway station. They're open on Saturday and Sunday, but only for wiring money.

[Steelrails]

[SeoulNate]

don't bank w/ someone you have to travel an hour to get to maybe?

[FriendlyDaegu]

[Weigookin74]

It's why I'm stuck with Nonghyup. Guess there is one in my town, but nowehre's near my school. Yep, if you have some free periods at the end of the day, leave a couple of hours early close out those accounts.

[oatmeal]

All valid points both for and against.

On the one hand, I agree that it's actually easier in small towns because it's true, the banks are literally right across the street. I'm with NH as my main bank and it's right across the street from my school. I go there anytime I want, no signing in or signing out from my school required. It's so simple. I've heard that in schools in the city, you aren't allowed leave the school ground without signing out and even with that, they may still frown upon you for leaving school during work hours.

In my small town, I can go to NH and NH mart anytime during any period when I'm free without asking or telling anyone. That's really nice.

I joined KEB to make a 2nd account only in that it's a much larger bank internationally and seemingly more secure (as NH has had it's security issues recently). When I signed on with KEB, I knew that there were limited locations and I only signed with them basically because it will be easier for me to wire money home in the KEB that also exists in my home country (another account there).

The account I'm trying to close is not my chequing account, but simply a termed deposit account. This account does NOTHING other than automatically take 1 mil from my KEB chequing account. And it's only signed for 12 months at 3.0% interest rate. It's not the account where I put a huge lump sum in at once and don't touch it for a year. That account is fine. I don't need to do anything with it. It's just the 3rd account that takes 1 mil from me each month to put away and at the end of 12 months i'll get back a whopping $127 for the interest.

Oddly, when I asked them why I couldn't just stop that termed deposit plan and scrap it and just move that money back into my main KEB chequing account (so that I could spend it), they told me I had to come in person to do that. It's not like I'm trying CLOSE AN ACCOUNT and WITHDRAW all the money. That would be suspicious and I agree that in that case, in person should be a must. But what I'm asking to simply move my OWN money to my OWN account. There's nothing suspicious about that other than me cancelling the program that would have netted me $127 after 12 months of depositing 1 mil per month. So EVEN if some stranger that wasn't me did it over the phone, how is that DANGEROUS or RISKY? The stranger is only moving my own money from a high interest account to my chequing account??? If the stranger was requesting to close the account and take all the money out and send it to another bank account under another name etc, then YES, that's suspicious.

So, sorry, I still don't understand what is the danger or risk of being able to cancel my high interest savings account and simply move my own money back into my chequing account over the phone? No money is being taken out...simply transferred to the same account owned by the same person!

On top of that, I asked them if I could then have someone do it for me with my authorization as I have a family member working in a bigger city that has a KEB and I could just authorize them to with all my info to do it for me. Again, they said, sorry it's policy, only you can come in person to do it. But on the flipside, they said, if I wanted to open up a new savings/termed deposit account, I can have someone else do it for me with my authorization. How weird is that?

As I said in my title, it's just venting on some frustration and I know there's nothing anyone here can do anything about it. I just can't understand what the big deal is about tinkering with my own accounts and it doesn't involve taking any money out and moving to another anonymous bank etc. They're my own accounts, and I just wanted to move my money from one account to another.

It's like this, we all need a key to enter our house (front door/main entrance). If you have the house key, once you get in your house, you should be able to freely walk into your own bedroom and then another bedroom without having to use another key or verification pass. I'm not taking anything from the house outside of the house (that would be suspicious), but I'm just moving some books or furniture from one room of my house to another room of my house, but they are telling me that I need another key to access my bedroom 1 to move things to bedroom 2.
Well, that's how I see it.

Anyways, I've decided that I have no choice but to ask my school for Monday off until 1pm. I don't have any classes schedule until 1pm on Mondays so I might as well go to a KEB branch in person monday morning, and bus it back to my city and go to school by 1pm. Sighs....and all of it could be done over the internet banking or phone.

[optik404]

If we're getting hypothetical with it

Someone has all your banking info and knows you have x amount in your KEB acct, so they transfer all the funds back over the phone before cleaning you out. Or they have you hostage and force you to do it over the phone.

BOOM!

[littlelisa]

Open another account at a bank near you. Use that one as your main bank, and use KEB only for the card that works overseas, transfers home and other things that you can do with online banking.

In the meantime, ask your school if they will let you leave early one day, and move around a class or two to some other time in the week if you need to.

[johnny_russian]

KEB have a number of branches in Seoul and other cities that are open on Sunday. you can go close your account at one of them on a Sunday:

http://www.keb.co.kr/IBS/multi_lang/ncompany/eng/KBI1706P.jsp

[Ramen123]

If I'm not mistaken, you could do it online.