The bank has announced a partnership with British fintech companies over the blockchain and mobile certification technology development. For now, these are only memorandums of understanding.

A memorandum of understanding in the blockchain development field has been signed by Kookmin Bank representatives, Korean IT-company Coinplug and British fintech-startup Circle. The mobile certification technology was supported by a memorandum of understanding signed with Atsolutions IT company, as well as with British mobile applications developer Trustonic.

“We are excited to work with the top tech companies in London, a hub of the fintech industry. KB Kookmin Bank will strive to provide our customers with new experience by adopting cutting edge technologies,” the South-Korean bank’s representative says.

The interest of South Korea’s leading Kookmin Bank in the blockchain technology became public earlier this year. In February, the financial institution announced the development of a blockchain-based solution for international money transfers. The bank expects to make transfers faster and more secure with the help of blockchain because it rules out the third parties’ involvement and reduces the intermediary service expenses.

In order to develop this solution, Kookmin Bank partnered with Coinplug bitcoin startup.

The bank is a member of South Korean KP Financial Group. The bank’s net profit increased by 7.6% in 2015 and amounted to 1.1 billion Korean won (nearly $1 million). The number of its customers increased to 29.39 million. This is more than a half of the country’s population.

Coinplug is a platform providing services on the South Korean market, such as a system of physical payment cards or selling bitcoins via ATMs. The startup attracted more than $8 million during the recent investment rounds.

British payment services provider Circle is one of the most successful startups in terms of attracted investments. In late June, it collected about $60 million from international investors, mainly from China. In 2015 during a similar round, Circle attracted about $50 million. The service allows users to make instant and free cross-border payments in national currency. Transaction recipients can cash out the funds in local currency. Bitcoin is used as an intermediary for the transfer.

Elena Platonova