Fintech & payments regulation in South Korea (2026)
Fintech and digital payments in South Korea: licensing regime.
South Korea operates a mature, comprehensive licensing regime for digital payments and fintech. The EFTA (most recently amended effective 15 September 2024) governs electronic financial businesses, with the FSC issuing/registering licenses across consolidated categories (fund transfer, payment service, and payment gateway/PG), while the BOK runs the BOK-Wire+ settlement backbone and the open-banking and MyData rails enable fintech access to bank accounts and customer data.
Legal framework
Electronic Financial Transactions Act (EFTA), administered by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and supervised day-to-day by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS); payment-system oversight by the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Key points: digital payments & fintech in South Korea
Primary licensing law (EFTA)
The Electronic Financial Transactions Act is the principal statute for electronic financial businesses; licensing/registration is required for activities such as funds transfer, electronic prepayment means, electronic debit means, and PG/payment services, with the FSC as licensing authority and FSS as supervisor.
2024 EFTA amendment — consolidation and prepaid safeguards
Effective 15 September 2024, the EFTA was overhauled: the previous seven electronic financial business categories were consolidated into three (fund transfer, payment service, PG); prepaid issuers face expanded registration and mandatory safe-custody of user funds; e-wallet 'electronic prepayment means' licensees can no longer offer money transfer without a separate funds-transfer license.
Open banking & MyData
FSC's Open Banking system (launched December 2019) gives licensed fintechs API access to bank accounts and payment networks under an 'essential facility' approach, and the API-based Financial MyData service (live since January 2022) covers 720+ data items across banking, cards, insurance, securities, and public bodies; the FSC is rolling out a 'MyData 2.0' roadmap and expanded business-account scope.
Instant-payment rails & BOK oversight
The Bank of Korea operates BOK-Wire+ (RTGS, renamed in 2009 with a hybrid offsetting layer) for large-value and settlement of retail payment systems; the BOK is developing an RTGS-based fast-payment service to enhance safety and enable cross-border interlinking, complementing the bank-led KFTC retail rails that underpin near-instant transfers.
BNPL regulation
BNPL is currently offered chiefly via the FSC's innovative-financial-services sandbox under EFTA; the 2024 EFTA amendment imposed transparency, repayment-ability assessment and limits on late fees on installment/BNPL providers, and the FSC has signalled it is considering a dedicated BNPL licensing regime to formalise the sector.
Regulatory sandbox & innovative financial services
Under the Special Act on Financial Innovation Support, the FSC has designated 520+ Innovative Financial Services as of May 2025, covering payments, MyData, P2P lending, robo-advisory, and blockchain-based identity — used as a calibrated on-ramp into the EFTA licensing regime.
Timeline of decisions
- DecisionBank of Korea Expands Digital Won Real-World Testing to Nine Banks
Following Project Hangang's initial pilot, the Bank of Korea added two more commercial banks to bring real-world CBDC testing partners to nine, signalling a transition from limited-user trials toward broader retail digital won infrastructure deployment.
CoinDesk
- DecisionProject Hangang CBDC Pilot Launched, Up to 100,000 Citizens
The Bank of Korea, FSC, and FSS jointly launched a three-month retail CBDC pilot using deposit tokens issued by seven commercial banks within a regulatory sandbox, allowing up to 100,000 participants to make real-world purchases, South Korea's first live retail digital-currency test.
Human Rights Foundation CBDC Tracker
- Decision · officialBOK, FSC, and Ministry of Science Sign Wholesale CBDC + Deposit Token MOU
The three authorities signed an MOU establishing the legal and technical framework for a deposit-token system backed by wholesale CBDC reserves, and seven commercial banks received regulatory sandbox approval to issue tokenised deposits, defining the architecture for Korea's digital currency infrastructure.
Financial Services Commission
- Law · officialEFTA Enforcement Decree Revised: 100% Safeguarding Mandated for Prepaid Payments
Cabinet-approved revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act took effect, requiring prepaid payment service providers to separately manage 100% of customer balances and expanding registration obligations, closing a consumer-protection gap exposed by multiple prepaid e-commerce collapses.
Financial Services Commission
- Decision · officialFinancial MyData Service Fully Launched
The FSC opened the commercial launch of Financial MyData, enabling consumers to aggregate banking, insurance, card, and investment data on a single platform via licensed operators using standardised APIs, operationalising open finance and introducing a statutory data-portability right for the first time in Korea.
Financial Services Commission
- Law · officialVASP Registration Requirement Enters into Force Under AML Law
Amendments to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information took effect, requiring all virtual asset service providers to register with the FSC and comply with AML/KYC obligations including real-name bank-account verification, establishing Korea's first formal regulatory registration regime for crypto exchanges.
Korea Law Information Center (law.go.kr)
- Law · officialCredit Information Use and Protection Act Amended, MyData Licensing Framework Established
A landmark amendment introduced a new 'personal credit information management business' (MyData) licensing category and granted individuals statutory data-portability rights over their financial information, providing the legal foundation for open banking and the FSC's subsequent MyData licensing programme.
Korea Law Information Center (law.go.kr)
- Law · officialFinancial Regulatory Sandbox Launched Under Special Act on Financial Innovation
The Special Act on Support for Financial Innovation came into effect, creating a sandbox granting fintech firms time-limited regulatory exemptions to test innovative services; by April 2025, over 549 services had been designated, one of the most active fintech sandbox programmes in Asia and a primary driver of Korea's fintech licensing evolution.
Korea Financial Innovation Support Center (fintech.or.kr)
Sources
- elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawTwoView.do?hseq=21351
- fsc.go.kr/eng/pr010101/22203
- bok.or.kr/eng/main/contents.do?menuNo=400045
- bok.or.kr/eng/main/contents.do?menuNo=400412
- oecd-opsi.org/innovations/innovating-koreas-financial-payment-infrastructure-with-o
- kimchang.com/en/insights/detail.kc?sch_section=4&idx=31057
- lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=547dc362-75f4-4c9f-97f2-e6668b30dcd4
- iclg.com/practice-areas/fintech-laws-and-regulations/korea
- practiceguides.chambers.com/practice-guides/fintech-2026/south-korea/trends-and-developments
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 20 Jun 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026