KB Kookmin Bank and Bithumb to Continue Partnership for Another Year... FIU Accepts Change Report

[Financial News] KB Kookmin Bank and Bithumb will continue their partnership for real-name-verified deposit and withdrawal accounts for another year. 
According to financial industry sources on the 28th, KB Kookmin Bank and Bithumb recently signed an agreement extending their partnership for real-name-verified deposit and withdrawal accounts by one year. Earlier, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) accepted Bithumb's change report following the extension of the contract period and notified the exchange. Accordingly, the two companies will maintain their partnership through September next year.
The FIU's acceptance is separate from the procedure for approving the renewal itself between KB Kookmin Bank and Bithumb. Under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, virtual asset service providers must report their businesses to the FIU and file a change report when any reported information changes. Virtual asset exchanges operating KRW markets must obtain real-name-verified deposit and withdrawal accounts from banks.
After KB Kookmin Bank and Bithumb agreed to extend the partnership agreement for their real-name accounts by one year, Bithumb reported the relevant changes to the FIU, which then accepted the report. The renewal process was completed after the two companies signed the agreement following the FIU's acceptance.
With this renewal, KB Kookmin Bank and Bithumb will resume their partnership for one year, just six months after signing a six-month short-term contract in February.
At the time, KB Kookmin Bank shortened the contract period to six months instead of the customary one year after Bithumb experienced large-scale Bitcoin overpayment incidents. In June, KB Kookmin Bank conducted an on-site inspection of Bithumb to review its anti-money laundering (AML) system and internal controls. After completing a risk assessment and internal review, the bank agreed last month to extend its partnership agreement with Bithumb by one year and began the relevant procedures with the FIU.
The inflow of customers and expansion of its deposit base through the partnership with Bithumb are also cited as incentives for KB Kookmin Bank to continue the relationship. The bank's demand deposits stood at 176.8 trillion won at the end of the first half of this year, up 25.3 trillion won from 151.5 trillion won at the end of 2024. During the same period, the monthly active users (MAU) of KB Kookmin Bank's mobile app, KB Star Banking, increased by 1.03 million, from 13.03 million to 14.06 million.
A financial industry official said, "Partnerships between banks and virtual asset exchanges for real-name accounts are seen as a channel through which banks can secure new customers and low-cost deposits. Although the entire increase in KB Kookmin Bank's demand deposits cannot be attributed to its partnership with Bithumb, the inflow of funds from virtual asset investors appears to have contributed to some extent to the expansion of deposits."
[email protected] Ye Byung-jung Reporter