Needless to say, the smartphone is becoming one of the important business tools. A couple of weeks ago, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2011 was held in Barcelona. A wide range of smartphone applications were nominated and won awards. I was delighted when I heard the application that I use on my smartphone won an award. What applications do you use frequently on your smartphone? Scheduling? Social networking? Games? Learning programs? Or finance? Without exception, the smartphone has taken South Korea by storm. In the Seoul metro area, more than half of people enjoy something with their smartphones. Today, I would like to introduce Celent’s new report “Learning from the Approach of Smartphone Banking Pioneer Hana Bank”. This report offers an in-depth analysis of Hana Bank’s smartphone banking service, which has been the focus of attention as the first service of its kind in South Korea. However, being the first to market is not the only reason this service has attracted attention. Rather, it is Hana Bank’s array of innovative services. The services include:

• Online personal financial management
• Online coupon service
• GPS service

Also, the bank’s unique approach has allowed it to disseminate its message by leveraging the power of cutting-edge communication tools, such as social network services (SNS) and QR codes (two-dimensional bar codes), cementing its reputation as a leader in the field. My new report, Learning from the Approach of Smartphone Banking Pioneer Hana Bank, offers a penetrating analysis of the content of Hana Bank’s smartphone banking services while scrutinizing the marketing methods and future outlook of the service. It also addresses the important issue of security and unveils how Hana Bank tackled this issue, in the process creating what has become the de facto national standard for smartphone banking services in South Korea.