With the number of foreign nationals in Korea hitting the 1.5 million mark as of last year, the country appears to be working on improving immigration and multicultural polices to help foreigners settle more comfortably.

For many expats, however, there are lingering difficulties, especially when it comes to banking, because most banks here fail to pay attention to their needs.

Addressing them is Standard Chartered Korea, the Korean unit of Standard Chartered Group, which has been developing more products and services to cater to the foreign community here.

The bank said that it has focused, in particular, on providing personal financial services to foreign speakers.

The bank currently operates foreigner-friendly international banking branches at its five major branches in Seoul to provide expats with a full range of traditional banking products, including savings accounts, deposits, credit cards and investment management products.

At each of these globalized branches ― located in central and southern Seoul, including Kyobo building in Jongno, Korea Trade Center in Gangnam and the Itaewon area ― a dedicated team of “relationship mangers” are available to help customers with financial services for both personal and business needs in Korea, according to the bank.

“Our relationship mangers are bilingual and speak English as well as Korean and other languages. They also have a comprehensive knowledge of the banking system, here,” a spokesman from Standard Chartered Korea said.

In-depth consultation on wealth management and a personalized portfolio service are also available for expats at the five Seoul branches, the bank said.

Foreign customers can now more easily access financial services through the bank’s online and mobile banking services, which are both fully available in English, it added.

Standard Chartered, a leading global banking group, has a network of more than 1,700 branches and offices in 70 countries.

“Because we’re part of Standard Chartered Group, customers here can enjoy all the benefits of our global reach and local knowledge,” the official added.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)