Hana Bank announced on July 30th that it has become the first domestic commercial bank in Korea to offer real-time cross-border renminbi (CNY) remittance services via China's popular mobile payment platforms, Alipay and WeChat Pay.
This new service, named “Hana-Wester Union Wallet Remittance,” was designed to enhance financial accessibility for foreign customers. It allows users to send money directly to Chinese mobile wallets with only the recipient’s name in English and contact details, eliminating the complex procedures typically associated with international transfers.
The service supports both Alipay and WeChat Pay, enabling instant deposits into the most widely used local payment methods in China. This makes remittance faster and more convenient for users.
The remittance fee is set at USD 3 per transaction, which is approximately three to four times cheaper than traditional SWIFT-based international transfers. Among the services offered by domestic banks utilizing Wester Union, this fee is the lowest.
Customers can access the service through Hana Bank’s exclusive foreigner-focused overseas remittance app, ‘Hana EZ.’ The maximum remittance limit per transfer is up to USD 7,000, set for each sender.
A Hana Bank foreign exchange support official said, “As global mobile payment infrastructure expands, we introduced this service to enable foreign customers to send small amounts of money safely and at low cost, replacing unsafe and costly money transfer agents,” adding, “We focused especially on providing tangible convenience for Chinese customers.”
This service is part of Hana Bank’s strategic foreigner-oriented financial brand ‘HANA THE EASY,’ launched in March. Hana Bank is the first among Korea’s major banks to introduce mobile wallet remittance through non-face-to-face channels, further strengthening the digital financial platform ‘Hana EZ’ for foreign clients.
