Big data has joined the business portfolio of South Korean banks and other financial institutions amid data-related deregulations.

Eight banks and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation have started to trade their data and analytics services on the state-run data exchange created earlier this month, according to the Financial Security Institute on Monday.

The eight banks are Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, NH NongHyup, Industrial Bank of Korea, BNK Busan, DGB Daegu and BNK Kyongnam. Shinhan Bank was the first to sell its offerings last month.

Brokerage houses including NH Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities, Eugene Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Daewoo are also readying a similar service.

Companies can package and market data on the financial data exchange launched by Financial Security Institute and the Financial Services Commission on May 11. It currently has 46 members, of which 24 are financial firms. Since its launch, 65 trades have been made on the exchange, with seven of the paid transactions generating 220 million won ($177,835).

Data includes the spending history of credit card owners and financial information of local commercial districts such as income and expenses. Card companies are the most actively involved, with 98 of the total 211 registered data on the exchange accounting for card statements.

Competition is likely to intensify when the revised data privacy laws – the Personal Information Protection Act, the Act on the Promotion of the Use of the Information Network and Information Protection, and the Credit Information Use and Protection Act – come into effect in August.

Data in the past had only been available in big lumps such as gender, age or region. The amendment has eased the restrictions to reveal spending history at an individual level, but on an anonymous basis. For instance, companies would now be able to peer into the spending habits of 30-year-old Mr. Kim, such as what ride he takes to work and what restaurants he frequents.

People would also have better access to their own digital footprint once the government’s comprehensive data register program takes off. Dubbed My Data, the project seeks to integrate the volumes of personal information stored by financial institutions and companies into a single platform.

By Lee Sae-ha and Kim Hyo-jin

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