Foreign investors gain easier access to won settlement infrastructure

The main and annex buildings of the Bank of Korea headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Herald DB]
The main and annex buildings of the Bank of Korea headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Herald DB]

The Bank of Korea launched a pilot operation of its won international settlement network Monday at 9 a.m.

Four domestic banks — Kookmin, Woori, Hana and Shinhan Bank — are participating in the pilot. Foreign banks and other institutions are expected to join when full operations begin in January next year.

At around 9:30 a.m. Monday, two domestic participating institutions conducted the first pilot transaction, worth about 1.4 billion won ($1.01 million).

The won international settlement network operates around the clock on weekdays, excluding weekends and public holidays. Foreign investors can settle transactions in won during their own local business hours simply by opening an account with a registered foreign institution handling won business, known as an RFI-K, rather than with a domestic financial institution.

The Bank of Korea said it expects the network to significantly improve foreign investors' access to won settlement infrastructure and contribute to raising the won's international standing.

"We plan to operate the settlement network stably through continuous monitoring, while contributing to the development of Korea's payment and settlement infrastructure through system and regime improvements and the expansion of participating institutions," the central bank said.


kimstar@heraldcorp.com