KB Kookmin Card Uses Public MyData to Narrow the Corporate Credit Gap

KB Kookmin Card has become the first Korean card issuer to apply Corporate Public MyData to corporate card issuance. This move removes paper certificates and enables financial institutions to process administrative records directly. Corporate card competition may shift from rewards and credit limits to data-driven decisions. Corporate customers can submit electronic administrative information after business authentication and data transmission consent.

The system uses six data sets—five from the National Tax Service and one from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups—to verify corporate status and financial information. This reduces the burden on companies, eliminating manual verification, data entry, and document storage at sales offices. Public MyData allows businesses to access over 70 types of administrative records, including business registration, tax payments, and financial statements.

These records offer a more immediate view of a company's financial health compared to annual financial statements, which may not capture rapid revenue changes. Combining public data with payment flows can create a more current view of repayment capacity and business continuity. While the current change focuses on simplifying corporate card issuance, there is potential for expanding this into credit scoring and limiting processes.

Corporate Public MyData could identify promising young companies that lack collateral or extensive borrowing histories, helping to narrow the corporate credit gap. Corporate cards could also facilitate supply chain finance by connecting purchasing, settlement, working capital, and credit assessment. However, the long-term value of Corporate Public MyData depends on improving the quality of assessment, distinguishing genuine deterioration from industry transitions, and giving companies a way to review and correct errors.