South Korea’s fintech sandbox raises $110 million funding

Source: LeapRate 2020-05-28

South Korea’s fintech sandbox received $110 million (KRW 136.4 billion) investment and created 380 jobs.

The sandbox has been in effect since April last year and was created by the South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) with initial investment of $3.5 million (KRW 4 billion).

The sandbox allows fintech testing of their proof of concept without regulation and licensing for four years.

The FSC’s report stated:

The evaluation is based on the level of innovativeness, potential contribution to consumer convenience, and the soundness and feasibility of business plan.

The regulator has reported that 36 fintech services have launched through the sandbox after close monitoring for a year. Another 66 services are finishing their final stages, expected to go live sometime in 2021.

The $110 million raised in venture capital through the sandbox was brought by 16 of the 54 fintechs in the programme.

Seven of the fintechs taking part have significantly grown and are planning to expand to 14 new markets like Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The banking sector fintechs have been the most prominent point of interest and insurance, capital markets, lending and IT all industries follow close behind.

The regulator said that testing artificial intelligence (AI) in “real estate quote evaluation, chatbot service, and credit evaluation” has also been in development on the sandbox.

The current coronavirus crisis has driven automation in account opening, loan comparison and insurance subscription to be explored as well.

FSC reported:

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for data or platform-driven services has increased.
The FSC will continue to support the development of innovative financial services through its regulatory sandbox program.

South Korea’s fintech sandbox raises $110 million funding

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