Use a Free Financial Certificate Instead of a Paid Public Certificate!

Today, I'm going to show you how to use the innovative Financial Certificate instead of the Public Certificate, which requires annual fees and complex password settings. Are you ready to switch?

 
There are many types of certificates that can verify your identity for online transactions. Instead of the inconvenient Public Certificate, a 'Common Certificate' (공동인증서) with a slightly different name appeared. And these days, it's become even more confusing with the addition of features like KakaoTalk authentication and Naver Certificate. But, the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearing Institute (금융결제원) has also released a Financial Certificate.
 
My Public Certificate was about to expire, and I was bombarded with emails urging me to renew it. For a personal general Public Certificate, the annual fee is ₩4,400 as of September 2022. I wasn't sure what the difference between a Public Certificate and a Financial Certificate was, so I just ignored it... But, since it's created by a public institution, it felt safe, and I was drawn in by the promise of it being free. So, I decided to get it issued for the first time. After using it, I found it easy to authenticate without installing any programs, and it was also fast, so I decided to share it with everyone through this post!
 
Financial Certificate official website https://www.yeskey.or.kr/

Mobile app Financial Certificate screen (image from the official website)

 
Looking around the official website, I noticed phrases like 'Issue within 3 minutes and store in the cloud', 'Easily authenticate with a 6-digit number in 3 seconds', and 'Issue once and relax for 3 years'. The issuance process is the same as for a Public Certificate; you can apply through your frequently used bank. Note that you must have internet banking registered with that bank account to be able to issue a Financial Certificate. The menu names may differ slightly depending on the bank, but generally, you can access it through the bank's website under the 'Authentication Center (Personal)' menu > 'Certificate Issuance/Re-Issuance'. When doing so, make sure to confirm that the name of the certificate you are issuing is 'Financial Certificate'.
 
Here are the places where you can use the Financial Certificate. (Please check the official website for updates. Before switching, it's a good idea to check if the services you frequently use only accept Public Certificates!). It supports services like Hometax (홈택스) and the National Pension Service (국민연금공단), and well-known insurance companies are also supported, so if you're an individual who only uses it for banks/credit cards/insurance, switching would be much better.

I hope this was helpful! If you found it helpful, please consider clicking on an ad; it would be greatly appreciated. I'll be back with more useful and valuable information in the future. Thank you!