Moamoa account offers up to 4.5% annual rate; visitors play '4.50-second' timing game
Participants say the game makes the rate stick in memory
150 visitors on opening day, 10 new accounts opened
Credit union targets 50 new accounts over two-day event
"Ready, go!"
At the credit union booth of Herald Money Festa 2026, held Saturday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung-gu, Seoul, a visitor clenched her fist and stared intently at the numbers ticking across a display board before slapping a button. The screen froze at 4.53. As the crowd let out a collective gasp, the host laughed and said, "Oh, so close — but still close enough for a prize," handing over an "Eobuba" pig-character pen and a toothbrush-and-toothpaste set, the credit union's mascot merchandise.
The target number — 4.50 — was drawn directly from the Moamoa account's maximum annual interest rate of 4.5%, the product the credit union was showcasing at the front of its booth. The game asked visitors to stop a timer as close to exactly 4.50 seconds as possible, letting them enjoy the activity while naturally committing the product's rate to memory.
"At other events we ran quiz formats where people had to guess the interest rate, but having them physically stop a timer at that number is something we tried for the first time here," a credit union official said. "Compared with just answering a quiz, playing the game seems to make visitors enjoy it far more — and they seem to remember '4.5' much better afterward. We're very pleased with how it's going."
The Moamoa account is a free-withdrawal savings account that accrues daily interest even if funds are deposited for just one day. Balances up to 500,000 won ($368) earn a base annual rate of 3.5%, and first-time credit union customers receive an additional 1 percentage point preferential rate, bringing the maximum annual rate to 4.5%. Different rate tiers apply depending on the balance held, and account holders can manage the product through the credit union's mobile app, ON Bank.
Competing for the college students' attention alongside the timing game was a pink Eobuba plush doll sitting at the corner of the booth. When students who had just finished the game asked, "Can we get that doll too?" a staff member told them it came with opening a Moamoa account.
When Lee Gyeong-eun, 21, said, "I love this Eobuba character — I really want one," the four college students she had come with all pulled out their phones at once. They opened the credit union app on the spot and began the account-opening process. With staff members guiding them through each step, all four finished in about 10 minutes.
"Opening an account is honestly the kind of thing you have to psych yourself up to do, but here the cute, soft doll was right in front of me — I couldn't not do it," Lee said. "And the staff were right there helping us every step of the way, so it was over before I knew it."
Won Mi-jin, 24, who opened an account alongside Lee, said the rate made the decision easy. "As a college student I have no income, but the cost of living keeps going up and the financial pressure is real," she said. "With an interest rate this high, there's no reason for us not to sign up."
"Opening an account on-site is much easier to do in real time than, say, issuing a new debit card," a credit union official said. "The Moamoa account has a clear advantage over a standard deposit account in terms of the interest rate, so the response from visitors has been very positive."
About 150 people visited the credit union booth on Friday, the opening day of the event, and 10 of them opened new accounts. The credit union is targeting 50 new account openings over the two-day event. "Since today is a weekend, we're expecting a lot of families and college students to come by," an official said. "Judging by the on-site response, we're confident we can hit our target."
snsd@heraldcorp.com
won@heraldcorp.com
