Learning from the Approach of Smartphone Banking Pioneer Hana Bank

Financial services available on smartphones are increasingly being thrust into the limelight. While the nascent field of smartphone banking has many issues that will need to be resolved moving into the future, Hana Bank’s approach in launching its smartphone banking service is instructive. Hana Bank’s experience has highlighted the need for effective marketing above and beyond innovative services and functions to ensure success.

Celent tackles this topic in its new report, Learning from the Approach of Smartphone Banking Pioneer Hana Bank. This report offers an in-depth analysis of Hana Bank’s smartphone banking service, which has been the focus of attention as the first service of its kind in South Korea. However, being the first to market is not the only reason this service has attracted attention. Rather, it is Hana Bank’s array of innovative services—notably multiple online functions that include personal financial management as well as a marketing strategy hinging on a novel coupon service—that have further thrust it into the spotlight.

A year has elapsed since Hana Bank launched its smartphone banking service. The subscriber base continues to grow, fueled both by the attractive service lineup and the bank's innovative marketing strategy. The bank’s unique approach has allowed it to disseminate its message by leveraging the power of cutting-edge communication tools, such as social network services (SNS) and QR codes, cementing its reputation as a leader in the field.

“Hana Bank has used SNS and other modern-day marketing methods while actively harnessing the most advanced tools available in cobbling together its innovative service lineup. In this way, the bank has succeeded in showcasing the advanced nature of smartphone banking and attracting customers,” says KyongSun Kong, author of this report and an analyst with Celent's Asian Financial Services Group.

This report offers a penetrating analysis of the content of Hana Bank’s smartphone banking services while scrutinizing the marketing methods and future outlook of the service. It also addresses the important issue of security and unveils how Hana Bank tackled this issue, in the process creating what has become the de facto national standard for smartphone banking services in South Korea.