In his second year as president, Jung Jin-wan of Woori Bank is making a bold move to expand the customer base. The bank has launched a new experiment linking its budget mobile phone business directly with financial transactions, aiming to convert non-financial customer touchpoints expanded through embedded finance like Samsung Wallet Money into actual financial dealings. The strategy goes beyond simply selling bank products; it seeks to secure customers by entering their daily lives in payments, communications, gaming, performances, and content, then connecting them to long-term financial transactions such as salary transfers.
According to the financial sector on the 31st, Woori Bank will launch a budget mobile plan called 'WON Celler (Salary_Up)' on the first of next month, reducing communication bills to a maximum of '0 won' based on financial transaction performance. This marks the first structure in the telecommunications industry that determines discount rates according to financial transaction records with banks, moving beyond simple price and data competition in the existing budget mobile market.
WON Celler consists of two plans: '15GB+' with a monthly base fee of 20,000 won and '71GB+' at 30,000 won. By combining a basic discount upon enrollment with a maximum financial discount of 15,000 won based on transaction performance, the 15GB+ plan reduces the monthly communication bill to 0 won, while the 71GB+ plan lowers it to as little as 5,000 won. These benefits apply for one year.
Among seven financial discount categories, priority is given to securing primary accounts by allocating a 10,000 won monthly discount for either salary transfers (10 thousand won or more per month) or enrolling/maintaining one of the four major pensions. Additionally, discounts are offered: 1,000 won for automatic payment of WON Mobile communication fees via ourWON mobile; 2,000 won each for new registration and login to WON Banking and new enrollment/maintenance of housing subscription comprehensive savings accounts; and 1,000 won each for new enrollment/maintenance of Samsung Wallet Money linked to our bank accounts and time deposits.
From Woori Bank's perspective, it can secure new customers by offering a highly tangible benefit—reduced communication bills—and then connect them to long-term transactions such as salary accounts. For new customers, simply switching their salary account to Woori Bank could save 120,000 won annually on communication bills, making it an effective incentive for shifting primary banking relationships.
This aligns with the 'customer expansion' strategy that President Jung has prioritized as the top management objective this year. In a management strategy meeting held last January, he set four strategic directions: customer expansion, profit strengthening, future growth, and responsible management, placing 'customer expansion' at the forefront.
In fact, Woori Bank has rapidly expanded its touchpoints with customers over the past two years by crossing the boundaries between finance and non-finance. Notable examples include Samsung Wallet Money launched in partnership with Samsung Electronics; Naver Pay's 'Npay Money our account'; CJ PAY our account from CJ OliveNetworks; and 'Samsung Card our time deposit' offering up to 10% annual interest linked with Samsung Card. The bank also formed an official sponsorship deal with esports team T1, launching exclusive savings accounts and debit cards, and became the only commercial bank to open a consultation window for Individual Retirement Pension (IRP) on Naver Pay's pension home page.
The most notable achievement is Samsung Wallet Money in partnership with Samsung Electronics. Launched in December last year, Samsung Wallet Money reached 500,000 subscribers within three weeks of launch, surpassed one million before two months had passed, and exceeded 2.5 million subscribers as of last month. It has secured over 18,000 stores nationwide—including Daiso and CU—as strategic partner outlets, expanding customer touchpoints from online to offline.
The bank is also expanding into non-financial new businesses. Following the launch of 'WON Mobile,' its budget mobile service in April last year, it established the performance ticketing platform 'TWOTHEMOON' in April this year. TWOTHEMOON marks the first case where a bank directly entered the ticketing market, offering a win-win model that provides independent booking infrastructure to emerging artists and small-scale agencies.
The bank is also moving away from traditional methods of directly explaining financial products to customers. After producing content explaining the budget mobile market on the economic YouTube channel 'Shuka World,' it appeared as the 'first promotional target' on Kim Sun-tae's personal YouTube channel, known as 'Chungju Man.' The video showing Kim touring Woori Bank's headquarters business department and dealing room, along with a direct conversation with President Jung, has currently recorded approximately 5.34 million views. The Samsung Wallet Money advertising campaign also achieved around 11.47 million YouTube views.
Woori Bank is shifting its focus from 'expanding customer touchpoints' to 'converting them into financial transactions,' marking the launch of WON Celler as a turning point. Since the 2.5 million Samsung Wallet Money subscribers do not automatically become Woori Bank's primary customers, the bank believes it is crucial to connect the customer base expanded through payments, communications, and content to core financial transactions such as salary transfers, housing subscriptions, and time deposits.
in FINANCE
