🇰🇷 South Korea · Business Banking
Opening business and personal bank accounts, remote options, required documents, and fees.
Quick answer
Korean banking is highly digital. Foreign residents can open accounts, generally needing an alien registration card (ARC); some banks limit features until you have residency. The Bank of Korea is the central bank.
Korean banks are supervised within the Bank of Korea framework. Foreign residents can open accounts, generally needing an alien registration card (ARC).
- The Bank of Korea is the central bank.
- Foreign residents typically need an alien registration card (ARC) for a full account.
- Online banking is widespread but may require local verification.
Step-by-step
- 1
Get your Alien Registration Card (ARC)
If you are staying longer than 90 days, apply for the ARC (외국인등록증) at an immigration office; a full-featured account generally requires it.
- 2
Prepare a Korean phone number
Banks need a Korean mobile number for OTP verification during and after opening.
- 3
Choose a bank
Major banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana) or internet banks; some limit features until you have residency.
- 4
Prepare business documents (business accounts)
For a business account, prepare the business registration certificate and the representative's ID.
- 5
Visit in-branch and complete verification
Bring your ARC, passport and phone number; banks run identity and anti-money-laundering checks.
- 6
Activate the account and set up payments
Receive your card and mobile banking, then set up transfers, automatic payments and app-based payments.
Checklist
- Alien Registration Card (ARC / 외국인등록증)
- Original passport
- Korean phone number (for OTP verification)
- Business registration certificate + representative ID — business accounts
- Initial deposit (if required by the bank)
Official authorities
- Bank of Korea
Central bank of the Republic of Korea.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an ARC to open a Korean bank account?
For a full-featured account usually yes — an alien registration card is typically required; limited accounts may be possible beforehand.
Are transfers and payments app-based?
Yes — mobile banking and transfer apps are widely used, though some require a Korean phone number and ID verification.
Do I need a local account?
A local account and card help with rent, bills and some online services that foreign cards can't cover.
Official-information aggregation, not legal advice. Always verify on the authority's own site.
Government portals
- Government of Korea — Korea's integrated government portal — policy, administrative services, e-government
- Korea Immigration Service (HiKorea) — Visas, residence status changes, work permits, and alien registration in Korea
- National Tax Service (NTS) — Korean income tax, corporate tax, VAT filing; annual comprehensive tax return for foreigners (May); foreign taxpayer incentive lookup