Toss Bank transfer error affects 32.5 billion won; 78% recovered

[Financial News] A processing error occurred while Toss Bank was updating its internal remittance system, resulting in a financial incident involving 32.5 billion won. The bank has recovered about 80% of the funds, and is proceeding with correction procedures for the remaining 7.3 billion won. In response to the incident, Toss Bank will establish a task force (TFT) led directly by its CEO to strengthen its information technology (IT) internal controls.
According to sources in the financial sector on the 22nd, Toss Bank disclosed that the amount involved in the financial incident caused by an error in processing incoming interbank transfers on the 7th was 32.4937 billion won. About 25.2 billion won has been recovered, and the bank is proceeding with recovery efforts for the 7.29 billion won that has yet to be recovered. The estimated final loss has not been determined.
The incident occurred at around 2:20 p.m. on the 7th while Toss Bank was updating its internal remittance system. Some transfers from other financial institutions to Toss Bank failed for reasons such as insufficient balances, but were incorrectly recorded in the recipient customers’ Toss Bank accounts as having been completed successfully.
Toss Bank became aware of the error through customer inquiries that day and restored the system at around 2:50 p.m. It announced the error on its website the same day. Since the holiday period ended on the 12th, the bank has been notifying affected customers in stages and proceeding with transaction correction procedures in accordance with relevant laws.
Toss Bank emphasized that “no funds were actually withdrawn from accounts at other financial institutions in connection with this incident” and that “neither senders nor recipients suffered direct losses, such as money disappearing.”
Toss Bank is also taking follow-up measures to minimize inconvenience to customers. Since the 12th, it has operated a dedicated customer-service hotline and assigned additional staff to handle inquiries. It has also formed a dedicated response team involving key executives, including the chief financial consumer protection officer and the chief technology officer (CTO). The team is monitoring the status of transaction corrections and customer concerns in real time, and is expected to operate until the incident is resolved.
A company-wide task force (TFT) to strengthen IT internal controls has also been launched to prevent a recurrence. The CEO will lead the task force, which will include IT executives and staff as well as key departments such as human resources and organizational culture, and compliance. The TFT plans to review the full range of areas from system operations to organizational culture and the internal control framework, and develop effective improvements.
A Toss Bank representative said, “We sincerely apologize to the customers who were inconvenienced by this incident,” adding, “We will work to resolve the matter responsibly so that we can become a bank our customers trust.”
[email protected] Lee Hyun-jung Reporter