Dollar Falls to 1,300 Won, Yen to 800 Won... Both Currency Exchange and Deposits Surge

USD/KRW Exchange Rate Falls Over 200 Won from June Highs
Individuals and Companies Boost Foreign Currency Demand with Bargain Buying
Banks Enhance Foreign Currency Products and Benefits Targeting "Currency Tech Enthusiasts"

As of September 8, 2026, the demand for holding US dollars is rising, as the won-dollar exchange rate, which exceeded KRW 1,550 during trading hours in June, has dropped by more than KRW 200 to the KRW 1,340 range.

According to the financial sector on the 8th, the total amount of Korean won exchanged for US dollars at five banks (Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup) increased from USD 164.16 million in June to USD 348.75 million in July and USD 389.18 million last month.

The number of transactions also increased. The number of cases of exchanging won for dollars grew from 160,031 in June to 317,878 in July, and 329,541 last month.

As the value of the dollar fell, both individuals and companies appear to have started purchasing dollars. The won-dollar exchange rate was in the KRW 1,550 range during trading hours as recently as June, entered the KRW 1,400 range in July, and dropped to the KRW 1,300 range last month. On the previous day, it even fell to the low KRW 1,330 range during trading.

The amount of dollar deposits is also on the rise. As of the 3rd of this month, dollar deposits at the five banks totaled USD 76.98223 billion. Considering that the balance at the end of May was USD 62.98856 billion, it increased by about USD 14 billion (KRW 1.8851 trillion) in just over three months.

The won-yen exchange rate also dropped during a similar period, increasing the demand for Japanese yen. While the won-yen exchange rate reached around KRW 970 per JPY 100 during trading hours in June, it entered the KRW 800 range in July and dipped to KRW 850 last month.

Accordingly, the amount of won exchanged for yen increased from JPY 23.73428 billion in June to JPY 38.86306 billion in July, then recorded JPY 28.22604 billion last month. This month, as of the 3rd, JPY 6.29899 billion has already been exchanged. The amount exchanged in just three days equals 22.3% of last month’s total. The number of transactions also increased from 186,752 in June to 315,472 in July, and reached 307,150 last month.

Yen deposits are increasing as well. The balance of yen deposits at the five banks increased from JPY 908.79491 billion in June to JPY 1.03887604 trillion in July, JPY 1.08268420 trillion last month, and JPY 1.12424413 trillion as of the 3rd of this month.

Banks are strengthening products and benefits to attract so-called “FX-savvy” customers and those seeking currency exchange services. On July 30, Toss Bank launched “Foreign Currency Piggy Bank,” a regular savings account in foreign currency that automatically converts won to foreign currency. The Foreign Currency Piggy Bank product allows customers to save dollars starting from as little as KRW 10,000 per day, without complicated exchange procedures. By setting up an automatic transfer, the designated amount of won is changed to dollars and accumulated in the account. The daily average number of deposits into Foreign Currency Piggy Banks in the fourth week after launch was six times higher than during the first week. The “periodic savings” function, which buys foreign currency at regular intervals, is utilized by more than 80% of users every month.

Kakao Bank also launched a foreign currency account in June. When purchasing foreign currency, customers receive a 100% exchange rate benefit, meaning there are no currency exchange fees. Up to USD 100,000 can be stored in the connected “Dollar Safe Box,” and customers can receive daily interest at an annual rate of 2.1%.

To meet the demand for currency exchange among international travelers, KB Kookmin Bank is offering, to the first 50,000 customers who exchange the equivalent of at least USD 100 by the 30th of this month, a free global eSIM providing 1 gigabyte (GB) of data.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.