Start your own digital banking app in South Korea and take on KB Kookmin Bank and KakaoBank
By SendPay Business · · 3 min read
In South Korea, app-first banks won millions of customers within a few years of launch. Most of that money flows through a handful of names: KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, plus apps like KakaoBank and Toss. Every one of them started as somebody's idea. Yours can be next: your own digital banking app, under your own name, with your own fees.
Who you'd be competing with in South Korea
The big banks, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, have the branches and the history. The fast-growing apps, like KakaoBank and Toss, won because they were simpler and cheaper to use. That gap is where a new brand wins: a community, a niche, a language or a type of customer the giants treat as an afterthought.
What you can launch under your own brand
An everyday account app with balances and a branded card, a money transfer app, a payment-link product for invoices, a marketplace that pays its sellers, or a membership platform. Each is a template: your name, your colours, your domain, your fees.
How it works, in a few clicks
Pick the template closest to your idea, type your platform name and preview every page before you pay.
- Pick a template.
- Name it and choose your colours. The site changes as you type.
- Preview the finished platform, page by page.
- Verify with a selfie and pay your invoice.
- Go live on your own domain within 24 hours and invite your first users.
You set the fees, you keep them
Charge 1%, 2.9% or nothing: it's your call. On every won your users move, your platform earns the fee you set. Your users sign up with you, not with us.
Permissions: the honest part
The accounts, cards and payments behind your platform are powered by licensed partners. Depending on what your platform does and who it serves, you may also need your own registration, and serving customers in South Korea can bring local rules from the Financial Services Commission. We tell you in writing which permissions apply to your platform before you pay, and introduce specialists who handle them. We are not licensed advisers and don't guarantee outcomes.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
Can I really compete with KB Kookmin Bank?
Not on size on day one. But you can beat any big bank on focus: a platform built for one community or one kind of customer, with a better experience and fairer fees. That's how every challenger started.
Can I call it a bank?
In most countries, including South Korea, "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, an app or a platform. Your users still get a balance and a way to pay.
Is SendPay Business connected to KB Kookmin Bank or KakaoBank?
No. We name them only to describe the market. SendPay Business is an independent technology company, not a bank.
What should I call my app?
Pick a short name that is easy to say in South Korea, has a free domain, and doesn't use the word "bank". The free name generator gives you ideas and opens your favourite straight in the builder.
Payment app name generator →How much could my platform earn?
It depends on how many users you have, how much they move and the fee you set. Put your own numbers into the free calculator to see what your platform could earn in won terms each month.
Platform earnings calculator →Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers. Tick each step off as you go.
Digital bank app launch checklist →How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you pay. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.
Build my platform →Read next
- Build an app like KakaoBank, under your own brand
- Build an app like Toss, under your own brand
- Build an app like Kakao Pay, under your own brand
- Build an app like Shinhan Bank, under your own brand
- Build an app like KB Kookmin Bank, under your own brand
- Build an app like Woori Bank, under your own brand
- Build an app like NongHyup Bank, under your own brand
- Build an app like IBK (Industrial Bank of Korea), under your own brand
- Build an app like Hana Bank, under your own brand
- Build an app like Standard Chartered Korea, under your own brand
- Start your own digital banking app in Seoul and take on KB Kookmin Bank and KakaoBank
- Start your own digital banking app in Busan and take on KB Kookmin Bank and KakaoBank
- How to start your own bank-style app in the UK (without being a bank)
- White-label fintech platform: what it is and how it works
- How to set the fees on your own payment platform, and when it pays for itself
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.