“Now join the Bogeumjari loan and JTYK from your smartphone”

- HF’s Smart Housing Finance app gaining popularity -

On September 9, the Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF, CEO Seo Jong-dae) announced that its new and improved “Smart Housing Finance” app has been widely accepted, with over 50,000 downloads in just two months since its launch.

The app offers a wide range of services including: (a) application for and repayment of the u-Bogeumjari mortgage loan; (b) view of the ceiling for chonsei (returnable lump-sum rental deposit) loans; (c) application for the JooTaekYeonKeum (JTYK) reverse mortgage loan; and (d) application for installment loans on sold housing. For the first time among financial institutions in Korea, HF links databases across the country’s public agencies to provide users with real-time information on their income and debts as well as their eligibility for and the estimated amount of HF loans based on the prices of their housing as collateral.

During the two months from July 1, when the app was launched, through August 30, 387 applications and repayments of the Bogeumjari loan were made via the app, and 10,000 views were made on the ceiling for tailored housing guarantees. More than 90% of the app’s users were those in their 20s to 40s, with the 30-somethings being its most robust users (54.9%). Geographically speaking, those living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province took up the largest share of its user population (41%).

“The smartphone app service has brought our customer service to the next level,” explained one HF official. “We will pay continued attention to what our customers have to say to bring them greater benefits and satisfactions.”

On July 16, the Smart Housing Finance app was selected by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) as one of the biggest success stories of app development using open-source software development technology, a national initiative by the Korean government.