🇰🇷 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.
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