"I’m Withdrawing All My Stocks for the Bank"... Chuseok Spurs Surge in Installment Savings With Up to 13.5% Yields

Highest 1-Year Time Deposit Rates
Gwangju Bank "Good Start Deposit" Offers Annual Rate of 3.95%
Major Banks Also Offer Annual Rates Between 3.40% and 3.55%
Mutual Finance and Savings Banks Provide Deposits With 4.0% Annual Rates

As the "reverse money move" phenomenon unfolds, with funds shifting from the stock market to banks, fixed-term deposit and savings products at banks are drawing attention as profitable options for depositing Chuseok holiday cash. With rising market interest rates, some deposits now offer rates in the high 3 percent range, while certain savings products provide rates as high as 13 percent.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the Korea Federation of Banks' consumer portal as of September 24, among bank fixed-term deposits with a 1-year maturity, Gwangju Bank's "Good Start Deposit" offers the highest maximum interest rate. Customers can receive a base interest rate of 3.45 percent, and if they meet certain conditions—such as making their first deposit transaction (0.4 percentage point) and consenting to personal information collection and usage (0.1 percentage point)—they can earn an additional preferential rate of 0.5 percentage point, bringing the maximum annual interest rate to 3.95 percent. BNK Busan Bank's "The Special Fixed Deposit" also offers a maximum annual interest rate of 3.92 percent when applying the base rate of 2.10 percent plus bonuses for new customers, agreeing to receive mobile financial information and promotional notifications, and other preferential rates for specially promoted products.

There are also numerous fixed-term deposit products offering maximum interest rates in the 3.8 percent range. Notable examples include Busan Bank's "The Level Up Fixed Deposit" (3.87 percent), BNK Kyongnam Bank's "The Dundeun Deposit Season 2" (3.85 percent), SC Bank Korea's "e-Green Save Deposit" (3.85 percent), Jeonbuk Bank's "JB123 Fixed Deposit" (3.83 percent, paid at maturity), "JB Direct Deposit Passbook" (3.81 percent, paid at maturity), "JB Direct Deposit" (3.80 percent, with flexible maturity), Sh Suhyup Bank's "Sh First Meeting Preferential Deposit" (3.81 percent), and Jeju Bank's "J Fixed Deposit" (3.80 percent, paid at maturity).

Among Korea's five major commercial banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup), the highest interest rate as of the previous day is offered by Nonghyup Bank's "NH All-One e-Deposit" and "NH Waltz Revolving Deposit II", both at a maximum annual rate of 3.55 percent. This is followed by Kookmin Bank's "KB Star Fixed Deposit" and Woori Bank's "WON Plus Deposit" at 3.50 percent. Shinhan Bank's "SOLPyeonhan Fixed Deposit" and Hana Bank's "Hana Fixed Deposit" both offer annual interest rates of 3.40 percent. For internet-only banks, KakaoBank's "KakaoBank Fixed Deposit" (3.70 percent), K Bank's "Code K Fixed Deposit" (3.61 percent), and Toss Bank's "Toss Bank Early Interest Fixed Deposit" (3.60 percent) are available, with annual rates ranging from 3.60 to 3.70 percent.

If a 4 percent or higher interest rate is desired, mutual finance and savings bank products serve as alternatives. As of the previous day, Namsaejeon Credit Union, Dongho Credit Union, Incheon Jungbu Credit Union, and Hamyeol Credit Union each operate fixed-term deposits with maximum annual interest rates of 4.3 percent. Among community credit cooperatives, Jeongeup Community Credit Cooperative offers the highest rate (4.23 percent), with Wongwang and Ujangsan cooperatives close behind at 4.22 percent. According to the Korea Federation of Savings Banks, Union Korea Savings Bank's "e-Fixed Deposit" provides the highest rate among 312 products from 79 institutions, at 4.03 percent. This is followed by MS Savings Bank's "e-Fixed Deposit" (4.02 percent), Cham Savings Bank's "e-Rotating Fixed Deposit" (4.02 percent), and Kiwoom YES Savings Bank's "SB Talk Talk Rotating YES Fixed Deposit (1-year floating rate product)" (4.02 percent).

Regular installment savings products that offer even higher interest rates than fixed-term deposits are also worth considering. Jeonbuk Bank's "JB Super Seed Installment Savings" provides a basic annual rate of 3.5 percent, with the event preferential rate reaching up to 10.0 percent, meaning customers may receive an interest rate as high as 13.5 percent. After enrolling through mobile banking, 11 "seeds" are automatically generated upon monthly contribution, and if one of these is chosen as a "super seed," the bonus event rate applies—thus, selection is a key factor. Additionally, Kookmin Bank's "KB Card Spend Installment Savings" (12.0 percent) and iM Bank's "The Coupon Savings" (11.0 percent) also offer interest rates above 10 percent. Among savings banks, Yegarum Savings Bank's "iDoL Installment Savings" offers a maximum annual interest rate of 10.0 percent, with a base rate of 3.0 percent for a one-year maturity, and preferential rates of 4.0 percentage points for pregnancy and birth within the year, up to 2.0 percentage points based on the number of preschool children, and 1.0 percentage point for single-parent families.

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