South Korea-based internet-only bank KakaoBank will launch a fintech lab in the latter half of this year for the development of payments technologies.
The lab will primarily focus on developing technology for various digital transactions conducted via voice-activated speakers based on artificial intelligence (AI).
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The lab will also develop AI-based technologies that will be able to answer customer centre queries.
The bank plans to team up with various fintech terms and research institutions for the same.
The lender is currently working on making decisions related to hiring experts and organising the lab.
To facilitate the launch, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has exempted the lab from regulations.
The regulations restrict the banks’ internal systems to connect with external networks like the internet.
However, the regulators have allowed the bank to open especially amid the coronavirus outbreak, which led several companies to opt for work-from-home.
Launched in July 2017, KakaoBank is the second internet-only lender in South Korea and has added more than 10 million customers till now.
Explaining the reason to open the lab, a bank official said: “After operating for three years, we realised how much work we have to do on developing infrastructure and improving our mobile application.”
