Road to Korea for Fintech Hopefuls!
This is part III of a three part series. Click here for:
Part I: Korean fintech: The secret is out
Part II: The Good, The Bad and the Big Money
Andrew Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of fintech forex firm Ybex, sees forex regulations loosening, providing more opportunities for operators like Ybex. “Besides it being one of the leading economies in Asia, we are very interested in the Korean market as it is slowly loosening its strict foreign exchange policies. That should present a great opportunity for new FinTech players to improve the efficiency of its [Korea’s] foreign currency services, especially in the remittance and money exchange space.”
Ryan Liew, Director – Strategy and Business Development, also sees his firm’s mobile financial information products doing well in Korea. He says, “Korea offers one of the most vibrant financial markets in the world with a good mix of retail and institutional investors who are our target users.”
Bankers across the globe are taking note as Korean firms like Korbit, Viva Republica, and Streami Inc. go global. Recently, 24 executives from Belfius Bank & Insurance from Belgium visited D.CAMP to meet Korean FinTech startups and learn about the Korean startup ecosystem. International startup firms such as Vungle and Super Evil Mega Corp have pitched their tent at D.CAMP.
The startup hub also hosted FintechO2O’s first ever Pitch and Panel Night in Seoul. There, Hong Kong’s Cyberport and InvestHK aimed to lure Korean firms to their city, recognising their potential to succeed across Asia, hopefully using Hong Kong as a launching pad.
Bambu’s CEO and Founder Ned Phillips took the opportunity of the FintechO2O event to launch the Korean language version of its robo-advisor. Mr Phillips knows Korea, having spent many years working there in his pre-Bambu life as a banker.
“I attend and speak at a lot of events but the event put on by Nexchange last week in Korea was a standout. Big eager crowd.with genuine interest,” was his reaction to the event – and Seoul. “I got the real feeling that the explosion of FinTech creativity is real and happening in Seoul. It was perfect launchpad for our Korean Robo product.”
This is part III of a three part series. Click here for:
Part I: Korean fintech: The secret is out
Part II: The Good, The Bad and the Big Money
Photo: Bambu