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London FinTech firm becomes first online transfer platform to send money to South Korea

London-based money transfer company TransferWise has become the first online transfer company to offer money transfer services to South Korea.

The P2P international money transfer company has partnered with South Korean firm PayGate to offer South Koreans living abroad more opportunities to send money home.

Regulatory restrictions in the Far Eastern country meant that banks and brokers long had a stranglehold on the money transfer market, meaning anyone wishing to send money to the country were forced to pay their high conversion and transfer fees.

The new service will see the UK FinTech firm taking advantage of PayGate’s local expertise and regulatory changes to transfer money directly in Korean Won, meaning senders avoid conversion rate fees.

Taavet Hinrikus, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of TransferWise, said: “Until recently, there was no alternative to banks and brokers when people wanted to send money to South Korea.

“We’ve heard from consumers that the process was slow and outrageously expensive so we’re hugely excited to launch the route on TransferWise. It’s going to make a huge difference to the seven million Koreans living, working and studying overseas.

“The steps that the government in South Korea is taking to open up the financial services sector is good news for consumers. There will be more choice and better, fairer services to choose from.”

So Yeong Park, CEO and co-founder of PayGate, added: “I am so glad that we now can serve customers with our 18 years of diverse experience as a payment service provider, for them to make much cheaper, faster, and safer international money transfers to Korea.

“For the last few years PayGate has been working hard to grow the Korean Fintech Industry and our recent partnership with TransferWise is the result of these efforts. Customers in Korea will see how this alternative finance can positively affect their daily lives.”