Chairman Seok Chang-gyu: "AI Banking Within 3 Years... Stablecoin ATMs Also in Preparation"

Chairman Seok Chang-gyu of Webcash Dives Back Into Financial SI

A New Challenge in the Business He Gave Up 9 Years Ago

"We couldn't proceed due to GPU costs,

but banks have already secured a considerable amount

The path for AI banking is opening, just like for internet banking."

Stablecoin Withdrawals Now Possible at Convenience Stores

Virtual accounts, convenience store automated teller machines (ATMs), and corporate internet banking… These are all technologies that have set milestones in Korean financial information technology (IT), developed by Webcash. Seok Chang-gyu, founder of Webcash and often called 'the Father of Korean Internet Banking,' remarked, "The next step is artificial intelligence (AI) banking," adding, "Within the next 3 years, we will enter an era where everyone uses AI banking."

◇ "Bold Decisions Are Webcash's Strength"

Webcash has reentered the system integration (SI) business, which it boldly exited 9 years ago. When interviewed on the 14th, Chairman Seok announced plans to introduce banking services featuring AI agents on mobile apps for commercial banks this year. He stated, "Since starting the business in July 1999, our guiding management philosophy has been 'Let’s discard, remove, and change things,'" explaining, "When I realized in 2017 that there was no further potential for Webcash's SI business, I decided to exit immediately; but now, conversely, it’s time to pursue financial SI again."

Regarding Webcash’s return to the SI market, Chairman Seok emphasized, "We saw new business opportunities in AI banking." For the past 3 years, Webcash has invested over ₩10 billion in financial AI, building up a data foundation. He noted, "We initially tried growing financial AI into a business-to-consumer (B2C) offering, but faced setbacks repeatedly," describing, "The scale of investment needed for GPUs was simply too great, and the market outlook unpredictable."

Chairman Seok decided to focus on the company's strengths. Abandoning the B2C AI banking venture, he chose instead to integrate AI into their established 'corporate banking' market. He stated, "Banks have adopted GPUs, but are still considering their use cases—this is the source of new business opportunities. It's crucial to secure that technology first, so Webcash quickly jumped in to fill the gap." They formed a dedicated AI team and deployed over 100 staff members to the initiative.

◇ "Competitors Won’t Be Able to Catch Up in Just One Year"

This year, Webcash is preparing to launch AI agent banking with more than two commercial banks. On the 2nd, the company signed a business agreement with NongHyup Bank. The AI agent banking service developed by Webcash allows users to handle all banking tasks via chat and voice only. There is no need to navigate menus or type on a keyboard to find the desired information. Chairman Seok explained, "Think of it as installing a 'mini ChatGPT' inside the banking app."

He said, "The currently implemented AI agents operate at about a 'college student' level but can handle 98% of standard banking tasks." He added, "After training with 2-3 years of user data, they’ll be refined to a 'PhD' level." Since they began collecting learning data early, he is not concerned about latecomers entering the market. Chairman Seok commented, "Even with just a year’s head start, our AI’s learning capabilities will put us beyond the reach of competitors," adding, "Ultimately, the accumulated learning of the pioneer in the AI agent banking market will be hard to match." He also noted, "We have confirmed that, even with one-tenth the workforce, it is possible to implement AI agent banking in just 6 months."

He is also accelerating the stablecoin business via the subsidiary Coocon. Leveraging the digital local currency network of the subsidiary Bizplay, the aim is to launch stablecoin QR payments from next month. Chairman Seok explained, "We’re preparing to enable stablecoin withdrawals at ATMs in 40,000 convenience stores nationwide."

Reporter Jihee Choi mymasaki@hankyung.com