Woori Financial launches travel-specialized card

[Courtesy of each company]

As the number of overseas travelers continues to increase, Woori Financial Group has entered the overseas travel card market that was pioneered by Hana Bank and Hana Card Co. in 2022.

Woori Financial Group announced on Monday that it launched a debit card that is specialized for overseas travel and targeting this growing market. In addition to the standard benefits offered by similar travel card products, such as no foreign exchange fees, no withdrawal fees at overseas ATMs and no foreign transaction fees, Woori‘s product offers 5 percent cash rewards up to 30,000 won ($21.80) per month, in recognition of its late entry into the market.

Kookmin Bank and KB Kookmin Card Co. introduced an overseas travel debit card In April 2024. Offering a monthly discount of up to 20,000 won across seven categories including domestic cafes, parking lots, and restaurants, the card quickly gained traction to top 100,000 subscribers within four days. Cardholders also get a 100 percent preferential exchange rate for currency re-exchanges until the year’s end.

Hana Bank and Hana Card are the leaders in the Korean overseas travel card market, with their product recording 5 million subscribers as of June 2024 to date, less than two years since its launch just as the Covid-19 pandemic became endemic. Hana Card aims to maintain its lead with a “gift” service that allows users to exchange foreign currency among themselves.

For its part, Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Card Co. entered this market in February 2024. Their card allows users access to the airport lounge every six months, a 5 percent discount at U.S. Starbucks stores, and discounts on the Vietnamese mobility app Grab, in addition to its standard offerings. Shinhan’s travel card topped 700,000 subscribers within four months.

Financial institutions are targeting this market despite the low margins to attract younger travelers and increase user numbers. They believe it can lead to new account openings at their banks and cross-customer acquisition among their affiliates as they strategically introduce young users to their platforms.

Travel cards are particularly useful for attracting future core customers in their 20s and 30s, with Hana Card reporting that 63.4 percent of its travel card users in the first quarter of 2024 were in this age group. Similarly, about half of Shinhan Card‘s 750,000 subscribers were in their 20s and 30s as of February 2024.