How do banks and small-amount remittance companies differ?

Remittance rules for foreigners differ from those for Koreans. The USD 100,000 a year in the news does not apply to foreigners.

At a bank, you choose one bank for sending money. This is called a designated foreign exchange bank (지정거래외국환은행).

• Income earned in Korea, such as salary: submit documents showing how you earned it, then send within that income.
• Without documents: send within USD 50,000 a year.

Small-amount remittance companies (소액 해외송금업체) are registered with the government. Foreigners can send up to USD 5,000 per transfer and USD 50,000 a year.

Check these before sending.

• Is the company registered? Search the small-amount remittance lookup (소액해외송금업 조회) on FINE, run by the Financial Supervisory Service (fine.fss.or.kr). Running a foreign exchange business without registering is punishable.
• Have you checked the fee, exchange rate, and transfer time? Registered companies must tell you this.
• If the company goes bankrupt and your money doesn't arrive, you can apply for payment from its performance guarantee (이행보증금).

Be sure to check your own situation with 1345 or an immigration office.

Any questions about sending money? Leave your question below.