Toss Bank CEO Lee Eun-mi participates in the "life-saving finance" campaign organized by the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency. [Toss Bank]
Toss Bank CEO Lee Eun-mi participates in the "life-saving finance" campaign organized by the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency. [Toss Bank]

Toss Bank CEO Lee Eun-mi has joined the "life-saving finance" relay campaign aimed at preventing harm from illegal private lending. The initiative seeks to improve access to regulated financial services for low- and mid-credit borrowers and strengthen fraud prevention systems to protect vulnerable groups.

Toss Bank announced Thursday that it had joined the campaign, organized by the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency. Launched in July as a joint public-private initiative, the campaign was designed to raise awareness of the financial sector's role in keeping vulnerable people who urgently need cash from being pushed toward illegal lenders.

Lee joined the campaign at the bank's headquarters in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, after being nominated by Citibank Korea President Yoo Myung-soon. Lee Tae-sung, leader of the anti-money laundering operations team, and Jung Ha-na, manager of the financial fraud response team, also took part, delivering the message: "We will protect people so they are no longer driven to illegal private lenders."

Toss Bank uses its proprietary credit scoring model, TSS, to assess the repayment capacity of low-credit borrowers who are difficult to evaluate using conventional credit scores alone. By supplementing financial data with information on spending patterns and cash flow, the bank has expanded lending opportunities for low- and mid-credit customers. It has extended loans to approximately 380,000 such customers to date, and in the first half of this year supplied around 1 trillion won ($736 million) in inclusive finance products, including Sunshine Loans.

The bank has also continued its financial fraud prevention efforts. Under an MOU with the Korean National Police Agency's integrated response unit, it runs a community financial fraud prevention program staffed by retired police officers, who conduct educational sessions for elderly residents, patrol vulnerable areas and carry out public awareness activities. Within its app, the bank offers a "fraud alert siren" feature — drawing on data from the Korean National Police Agency, the Thecheat database and its own records — that issues advance warnings when a user attempts to transfer money to a suspicious account. Customers who fall victim to financial fraud can apply for the bank's "peace-of-mind compensation" program.

"Illegal private lenders target first those who cannot clear the threshold of regulated finance," Lee said. "We will work to open up reasonable financial opportunities for more customers and tighten our anomalous transaction detection and fraud prevention systems so that no one is pushed toward illegal lenders." Lee framed both expanding lending access for vulnerable groups and preventing losses from financial fraud as core responsibilities of inclusive finance.

Lee nominated Gwangju Bank President Jeong Il-seon as the next participant in the relay. Toss Bank and Gwangju Bank jointly launched a co-branded personal loan product, "Hamkke Daechul," in August 2024, combining Toss Bank's digital platform capabilities with Gwangju Bank's personal lending expertise to broaden access to first-tier banking credit.


forest@heraldcorp.com