Student bank accounts in Korea differ before and after the ARC: KB, Shinhan apps reject passports; KRW 1 million daily transfer cap without proof of purpose; up to 5 years in prison for lending

How an international student who has just arrived in Korea opens a bank account depends on whether they have received their alien registration card (ARC) yet. The KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank apps do not accept passports, so students without an ARC must go to a bank counter. Once the card is issued, apps become an option, but each bank verifies identity differently. The KB Kookmin Bank app verifies identity through a domestic account the customer already holds in their own name, which makes it difficult to open a first account through that app, while Shinhan Bank's SOL Global verifies identity through a video call with an agent if the customer has no domestic account. A new deposit (checking) account opened without documents showing the purpose of the financial transaction may be opened as a limited-transaction account, with daily transfers capped at KRW 1 million. Students who need to receive living expenses or pay dormitory fees or monthly rent should know the order in which to open an account, how to lift the limit, and what they must never do.

This article is part of a series on residence procedures. Visas before arrival were covered in How to get a D-2 student visa, step by step, and registration after arrival in the Alien registration card application guide.

At a glance

Before the ARC: the passport is your legal real name

Article 3, Item 4 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions defines a foreigner's real name as the name and registration number entered in the registered foreigner record under the Immigration Act. However, for a person who has not been issued an alien registration card, the name and number on their passport or ID are the real name. In other words, a student who has just arrived and does not yet have an ARC can legally undergo real-name verification with a passport.

The fact that the law recognizes the passport as a real name does not mean every account-opening channel accepts one. Some banks allow accounts to be opened with a passport at the counter. Woori Bank tells foreign customers to bring a passport or an alien registration card as ID. However, the documents Woori Bank lists for the main-bank account it introduces to international students are an alien registration card and a passport. Check with the branch which accounts can be opened with a passport. Woori Bank also tells customers who opened an account with a passport to bring both the passport and the card once they later receive their ARC. If you opened an account with your passport, plan to stop by the bank once more after you receive your card.

The KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank apps do not accept passports. To open an account on KB Kookmin Bank's KB Star Banking, a foreigner must have an alien registration card, a permanent resident card or a domestic residence card; foreign passports and driver's licenses cannot be used. Shinhan Bank's foreigner-only app, SOL Global, also requires a domestically issued ID for non-face-to-face opening, and the process cannot be completed with a passport alone. KB Kookmin Bank recommends that foreigners opening a bank account in Korea for the first time visit a branch and consult with staff first.

If you urgently need an account before your card is issued, first ask the branch you plan to visit whether you can open one with a passport and which documents to bring. Pusan National University informs new international students that a certificate of enrollment is needed to open a bank account, as well as to obtain an ARC and to extend their period of stay, so bring one if you can get it.

After the ARC: conditions for opening via app

Once you receive the card, you meet the ID requirement for opening an account via app. However, because the KB Kookmin Bank app uses a domestic account you already hold in your own name for identity verification, it is difficult to open your first account in Korea through the KB Kookmin Bank app. The requirements for opening an account through the KB Kookmin Bank app are as follows.

• ID: an alien registration card, permanent resident card or domestic residence card. Mobile IDs can also be used.
• Mobile phone: a domestic mobile phone in your own name. Identity verification is difficult with a foreign carrier number or a prepaid SIM.
• Domestic account: the account number of a domestic deposit account in your own name. It does not have to be a KB Kookmin Bank account; entering an account number in your own name triggers a verification code.

Shinhan Bank's SOL Global requires a domestically issued ID, such as an alien registration card, domestic residence card or permanent resident card, and a mobile phone in your own name for non-face-to-face opening. Identity is verified by receiving a KRW 1 deposit into your account at another bank or, if you have no domestic account, through a video call with an agent. Because the KB Kookmin Bank app can also verify identity through an account in your own name at another bank, you will meet its account requirement once you have opened a first account at any bank.

The KB Kookmin Bank app does not accept the ID of a foreigner who left the country after their period of stay expired. If you are continuing your studies, extend it before the period of stay shown on your card ends. Application deadlines, documents and fees for extensions are in the D-2/D-4 extension of period of stay guide, and if you plan to visit home during the break, also see the winter break re-entry guide.

Opening an account with a mobile alien registration card

Opening an account with a mobile alien registration card became possible on March 21, 2025. At launch, six banks could process it at the counter — Shinhan, Hana, iM Bank, Busan, Jeonbuk and Jeju — and Jeonbuk Bank could process it non-face-to-face. If you plan to bring only the mobile card instead of the physical card, first check whether the bank you will visit accepts it.

Why your first account is capped at KRW 1 million a day: limited-transaction accounts

A newly opened deposit account may be opened with a cap on daily transaction amounts if there are no documents confirming the purpose of the financial transaction. KB Kookmin Bank calls this a limited-transaction account, and Hana Bank calls it a financial-transaction limit account.

The limits were raised on May 2, 2024. Currently, the daily limits are KRW 1 million for internet and mobile transfers, KRW 1 million for ATM withdrawals and transfers, and KRW 3 million for bank counter withdrawals.

Most banks applied the increase from May 2, 2024, while NongHyup, Hana and Busan banks applied it from May 10. Non-bank financial institutions such as credit unions (Shinhyup), MG Community Credit Cooperatives and Korea Post agreed to apply it by August 28, 2024. Customers who already held limited-transaction accounts received the higher limits without applying separately. Internet-only banks use their own limits, which differ from this table. They did not change their limits at the time of the increase and kept their previous limits (KRW 1 million to 2 million for ATM and electronic banking). If a school notice or materials handed down by senior students state a daily limit of KRW 300,000, they reflect the rules before May 2024.

If you need to send more than KRW 1 million at once, such as for dormitory fees or monthly rent, you cannot do so by internet or mobile transfer. In that case, handle it at a bank counter (counter transaction limit of KRW 3 million) or apply to lift the limit well ahead of the transfer date.

How to lift the limit: show the purpose of the financial transaction in writing

The limit can be lifted by providing proof of the purpose for which the account is used. The main supporting documents by purpose listed by Hana Bank are as follows.

On Hana Bank's list, the item directly relevant to international students is the visa (study abroad or long-term stay) for the 'overseas use' purpose. Ask at the counter first whether other banks accept the same documents. If you work a part-time job with a part-time employment permit, an employment contract and a copy of your employer's business registration certificate count as proof of part-time job wages on Hana Bank's list. The permit conditions are summarized in the international student part-time work hours and pay guide. If you live outside the dormitory and pay utilities or maintenance fees yourself, you can submit payment receipts as proof (Hana Bank example).

Submitting documents does not guarantee that the limit will be lifted. KB Kookmin Bank states that lifting the limit may be refused at the branch's discretion even if documents are submitted. If it is refused, use the account within the limit and reapply once you have proof such as an employment contract or a utility payment receipt.

What you must never do: lend or sell your account

Handing over a bankbook, debit card or other access media used for online banking to someone else is subject to criminal punishment. The Electronic Financial Transactions Act, as amended in 2020, makes anyone who transfers or receives access media punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to KRW 30 million. Brokering access media, or soliciting it with an agreement to give or receive compensation, is also prohibited. Lending or borrowing access media for profit, even if no compensation is actually received, has been prohibited since the 2015 amendment.

Apart from criminal punishment, your financial transactions are also blocked. Once you are registered as the holder of a fraud-use (borrowed-name) account, you are restricted from opening new accounts for 1 year or more from the date of registration, the account is subject to payment suspension (account freeze), and internet and mobile banking are also restricted. Depending on how much you knew that the account would be used for crime, you may also be punished for fraud or aiding and abetting fraud.

Offers such as “Just lend me your bankbook for a little while and I'll pay you for your trouble” or “Hand over the account you've been using before you go home” all fall into this category. The same applies even when the request comes from a friend or a senior or junior student from your home country. Even as you prepare to return home, never hand over your bankbook, debit card or online banking information to anyone.

Order for opening an account and campus branches

Sungshin Women's University recommends that new international students apply for an alien registration card → open a bank account → set up automatic payment of National Health Insurance premiums, in that order. The idea is to apply for registration first and, after opening an account, have the monthly health insurance premiums paid automatically from that account. When international students are enrolled in health insurance, and the deadlines for premium notices and payment, are summarized in the international student health insurance guide.

Some universities have bank branches on campus. Seoul National University has Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and NH NongHyup Bank branches, and Yonsei University has Woori Bank's Yonsei branch (Sinchon) and International Campus branch (Songdo). The University of Ulsan has a BNK Busan Bank branch on the first floor of Building 22. Right after enrollment, also check whether bank information is posted in the international office's notices.

Students in Korean/foreign language training (D-4-1, D-4-7) prove their finances only with the deposit balance in a domestic account in their own name when extending their period of stay. The documents are covered in the D-2/D-4 extension of period of stay guide, and the required balance amounts in the international student bank balance proof guide.

Checklist

• Apply for your alien registration card. If you need an account before the card is issued, first ask the branch you plan to visit whether you can open one with a passport, and ask which documents you need and bring them.
• If you opened an account with your passport, inform the bank of your card after you receive it (Woori Bank tells customers to bring both the passport and the card).
• To open an account through the KB Kookmin Bank app, you need an alien registration card (or a permanent resident card or domestic residence card), a domestic mobile phone in your own name and the number of a domestic account you already hold in your own name. Shinhan Bank's SOL Global can verify your identity by video call even if you have no domestic account.
• If you bring only a mobile alien registration card, first check whether the bank accepts it.
• Check the daily limits on your first account (internet and mobile transfers KRW 1 million, ATM KRW 1 million, bank counter KRW 3 million), and apply to lift them before the day you need to send a large sum.
• When applying to lift the limit, bring the proof of purpose the bank requests (Hana Bank examples: a study visa for overseas use, an employment contract and a copy of the employer's business registration certificate for part-time job wages, and payment receipts for utilities).
• Extend your stay before your period of stay ends.
• Never hand over or lend your bankbook, card or online banking information to anyone.

Calling the branch before your visit to ask which documents you need for your situation can save you a wasted trip.