Hana Bank and other Korean banks to have system outages: be prepared

Saturday, 18 November 2023, there will be a major and lengthy (~12 hours) system outage for Hana Bank in Korea. (하나은행, 11월 18일 서비스 일시중단). A major systems upgrade is planned for that time, so for much of the day, all Hana Card activity will be suspended or sporadic. That will affect a wide variety of banking activities. Be aware!

Update: More banks too. See below.

I received several emails, text messages, and push alerts warning me about this, but all in Korean. I was going to post about that since foreign customers might not know about it. But I discovered in the Hana EZ app (하나이지) that they did offer an official English announcement. 

So I'll reprint it here for convenience and maybe easier dissemination.

Temporary Suspension of Hana EZ and Financial Transactions (Expected on Nov. 18, 2023)

2023-10-17

Thank you for using our bank's Hana EZ app.

Due to system upgrade, all banking services will be temporarily suspended.

Please check the below-described information to avoid any inconvenience in your financial transaction. Your understanding would be appreciated.

Affected hours: 12:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2023 (Saturday)

Affected transactions: All financial transactions using Hana EZ app and Hana Bank's account

• Sign on to Hana EZ app
• All transactions via Hana EZ including sending/receiving money
• Transactions using Hana Bank's account at other financial institution
• Transactions using Hana Bank's account at other financial institution
• Electronic financial transactions including mobile banking (Hana 1Q, Hana EZ, i-Booja) / Internet banking / phone banking / Firm banking / mobile web banking, and virtual account transactions
• Transactions using Hana Bank's check card
• Transactions via ATM (cash withdrawal, remittance, etc.)
• Transactions using Hana Bank's account via other bank's ATMs and CDs (at subway stations, convenient stores, etc.)
• Transactions using Hana Bank's account through other bank's Open Banking
• Issuance/removal of Hana digital certificate and any transactions using Hana digital certificate

Please be sure to prepare necessary cash or checks in advance In particular, those who need funds for real estate transaction (balance payment, moving, etc.) are advised to check their money transfer schedule.

*Affected hours may change depending on the progress of system upgrade.

*For details, contact Hana Bank's customer service center

(1599-1111, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on business days)

Might want to carry some cash with you or just use another card. I was thinking I could just use my Naver Pay but, whoops, that is directly pulling from my Hana Card. Looks like next Saturday will be a Hyundai Card kind of day. 

Update: More banks

In addition, it looks like some other banks will be having some large maintenance periods too.

• Woori Bank (우리은행) - 12 November 2023 (Sunday) 02:00 ~ 06:00 (4 hours)
• Citi Bank (한국씨티은행) - 12 November 2023 (Sunday) 01:00 ~ 12:00 (11 hours)
• Standard Chartered Bank (SC제일은행) - 26 November 2023 (Sunday) 00:00 ~ 05:00 (5 hours)

Via: [일시중단] 오픈뱅킹 이용기관 금융거래 일시중단 안내

Pass this info on to your friends who may use Hana Bank and might not realize this is coming up.