Finance in AX
The Three Internet Banks: "I Am the AI Leading Bank"

[비즈한국] The financial industry has entered a massive wave of change known as AI Transformation (AX). Adopting AI in core areas of finance—such as data analysis, risk management, and asset management—has emerged not as an option, but as a task that determines survival. With the rapid development of generative AI technology and government policy support, financial companies are moving beyond digital transformation (DX) to reorganize their business processes, organizational structures, and service strategies around AI. We examine the flow of AI transformation in the financial sector and explore the future direction of the financial industry led by AI through strategies and application cases in each field.

The three internet-only banks that led digital transformation and innovation in the financial sector (K-Bank, KakaoBank323410, and Toss Bank) have also been quick to adopt AI technology and move toward AX. The three companies are launching various customer-facing services using AI within their banking platforms and are pushing to strengthen their internal AI capabilities, viewing AI as their future growth engine.

K-Bank has set a goal of becoming an 'AI Powered Bank' and is actively pushing for AX. Upon his inauguration in 2024, CEO Choi Woo-hyung announced a goal to transform into a tech company by proactively introducing AI technology to K-Bank. On March 31, at a 'Connect Day' attended by the CEO and all employees, he shared the mid-to-long-term strategy of strengthening AI competitiveness and discussed the management plan and execution measures for 2026. K-Bank also held an AI special lecture by big data expert Dr. Song Gil-young on that day.

In February 2025, K-Bank became the first internet bank to introduce a finance-specialized private Large Language Model (LLM). A private LLM is a language model designed for exclusive internal use by a company; K-Bank collected and trained the model on data equivalent to 100 million books, including materials published by financial public institutions and academic societies. In September 2025, three generative AI-related services (△Generative AI app translation service, △Generative AI consultation assistant service, and △Generative AI internal productivity enhancement service) were designated as innovative financial services.

Based on this, in February, the bank built an AI assistant system exclusively for its customer center using its private LLM. The AI assistant analyzes consultations in real-time to identify the intent of inquiries and uses internal knowledge accumulated in the Knowledge Management System (KMS) to generate suggested responses. Customer service representatives can quickly resolve complaints by referring to the AI-generated answers.

To transition into an 'AI Native Bank,' KakaoBank has been applying AI technology to its platform, employee tasks, and customer-facing services. At the '2026 Press Talk' held on April 8, KakaoBank unveiled its strategy for the transition to an AI Native Bank. The plan is to implement 'hyper-personalized AI services' by combining its customers' app-only data with a finance-specialized LLM. In the third quarter, the company plans to introduce an AI-based agent that manages spending or assists with investments based on payment data.

KakaoBank CEO Yun Ho-young explained, "As financial app features increase, a 'paradox of expansion' occurs, where necessary functions become harder to find. Being 'AI Native' means AI finds and resolves complex issues that even customers are unaware of. For example, it can analyze payment history from the past year to review spending or recommend investment items." At 'Money 20/20 Asia' held in Thailand in April 2025, CEO Yun also emphasized, "Equipping oneself with UI, UX, and data optimized for AI is not an option but a core element for survival. KakaoBank is going all-in on AI-based UI/UX changes."

Since establishing its Financial Technology Research Institute in 2021, KakaoBank has been conducting AI research, including decision-making models and LLMs. Recently, it drew industry attention by shifting its internal 'AI Group' to a two-top management system led by financial expert Group Leader Lee Hyung-joo and IT expert Group Leader Ahn Hyun-chul. This is interpreted as a reflection of KakaoBank's commitment to strengthening its AI capabilities.

In May 2025, KakaoBank launched the industry's first generative AI-based search service. By the end of that year, it integrated its previously separate conversational AI services—such as AI search, financial calculators, transfers, and consultations—into 'KakaoBank AI.' KakaoBank placed an AI tab in the center of the app's home screen to increase user accessibility. According to KakaoBank, the cumulative number of users for its conversational AI services exceeded 3 million as of February.

Toss Bank is also focusing on AX under the leadership of CEO Eun Mi-lee, who aims to build an 'AI Leading Bank.' Having recently secured a two-year extension of her term (April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2028), CEO Eun presented three management directions: △Internalization and advancement of AI/data-based technology, △Strengthening the bank's trust foundation, and △Diversifying the loan/deposit portfolio and expanding non-interest revenue sources.

In December 2025, Toss Bank was designated for four innovative financial services using generative AI based on Amazon Bedrock to improve operational efficiency in the finance and banking sectors: △Code review, △Marketing and legal review, △Management and financial analysis, and △Text to SQL. A notable point is that these were requested for the purpose of improving internal operational efficiency and productivity, rather than for direct customer use.

According to Toss Bank, the code review service increases development quality and productivity while simultaneously reflecting the latest financial regulations in real-time to prevent regulatory compliance risks. The marketing and legal review service prevents false or exaggerated advertising by conducting legal reviews while marketing materials are being created. The management and financial analysis service aims to strengthen the bank's stability based on vast amounts of data. Text to SQL is intended to facilitate easy data extraction by converting natural language into computer language.

For customers, the bank was designated for two innovative financial services that combine generative AI with financial consultation. While existing chatbots relied on keywords to provide answers based on fixed scenarios, the AI consultation agent service identifies customer intent in real-time to provide context-aware answers or recommend financial products. This method analyzes financial products and internal policy documents based on an LLM. As a result, even complex product designs can be addressed by specialized AI agents that provide customized responses. Toss Bank stated, "This goes beyond simple technology adoption to increase financial accessibility and enhance the value of financial consumer protection."