The South Korean government is likely to allow credit card companies to offer stock trading service as an effort to deregulate the financial services field, South Korea's Korea Herald said Wednesday.

The nation's financial regulator, Financial Supervisory Services (FSS), is considering adopting rules to permit credit card companies to offer products in affiliation with securities firms, industry source told Korea Herald.

If the firms are allowed with such services, credit cards would get new features such as transactions involving cash management accounts, equity funds, bonds, stocks, equity-linked securities and other products that brokerages service, Korea Herald said.

"The envisioned product will be a combination of a conventional credit card and a brokerage account debit card, offering holders purchases on credit, card advance services and trading of stocks," a brokerage official was quoted as saying, adding that major securities firms are already making a move with card issuers.

It was not allowed to engage in stock trading with credit cards in South Korea as the authorities worried it might result in the rise in credit delinquents, incurring losses to card firms.

However, as firms may handle the risk by setting aside money in bad-loan provisions and by strictly monitoring card applicants when issuing the envisioned product, the government has decided to allow the service, Korea Herald said.

Source: Xinhua