S. Korea to allow withdrawal of foreign bills at convenience stores

South Korea's finance ministry will allow the withdrawal of foreign banknotes exchanged from Korean currency automated teller machines in convenience stores beginning next year to ease regulations in the foreign exchange market.

Under the move, banks may be asked to exchange the Korean won for foreign bills via smartphone applications with the foreign currencies being available for withdrawal at convenience stores.

The ministry will soon coordinate with convenience store operators about the proposed set up.

The regulation is among the five announced by the ministry, which includes foreign tourists allowing to receive sent money at an ATM and applications for exchanges on insurance company apps.

The objective is to allow remittance network sharing.

The foreign exchange transaction regulations were revised to increase innovation based on more competition and to minimize face-to-face activities.