Kim, a 71-year-old resident of a senior town in Gyeonggi Province, recently resolved his wealth management concerns after receiving a consultation from Hana Financial Group's Happy Dream Bus. "My spouse is ill and in the hospital, and my children are overseas, so I was anxious about what would happen if I fell ill," he said. "After the Happy Dream Bus consultation, I visited a branch and signed a testamentary substitute trust contract. A significant part of my worries has been resolved."
Lee, a 74-year-old who experienced the Happy Dream Bus at a senior welfare center in North Jeolla Province, also expressed high satisfaction. "When financial experts who worked in Seoul came and explained smartphone banking to me, it felt like a decade-old burden was lifted," he said. "Beyond the financial aspect, the fact that they listen to the stories of elderly people like us is itself a great comfort."
Hana Financial's "Happy Dream Bus," which visits elderly people and vulnerable senior populations directly to provide financial consultations and various educational services, is quietly gaining recognition through word of mouth.
According to the financial industry on the 27th, the Happy Dream Bus, which began operating in March this year, has visited 188 locations nationwide, including senior centers and senior towns, over roughly four months through this month. A total of 6,241 people participated in 245 training sessions. By region, Seoul accounted for 34.3% of the total, and Gyeonggi and Incheon for 19.6%. Other provincial areas made up 46.1%, close to half.
The Happy Dream Bus is a consultation and education service for seniors who face relative mobility difficulties and are vulnerable to the latest information. Veteran employees who accumulated an average of more than 30 years of financial expertise while serving as private banking (PB) center heads and branch managers at Hana Bank take part. Their consultation and education fields are extensive. In addition to financial areas such as wealth management, pensions, and inheritance, they cover a variety of topics including dementia and nursing care, voice-phishing prevention, laughter therapy, artificial intelligence (AI) digital experiences, ways to communicate with children of the new generation, and orchestra concerts.
In particular, the service supports customized financial planning for a comfortable retirement. It introduces "Hana the Next Home Pension," designed to help seniors secure a stable cash flow by utilizing the homes they live in. It also provides consultations on testamentary substitute trusts, which enable dementia prevention and customized inheritance.
That is not all. Anything that shares seniors' concerns and enhances their satisfaction with life becomes a subject of education and consultation. "We resolve seniors' concerns by providing services that encompass both financial and non-financial areas, as well as the emotional care that seniors need," a Hana Financial official said. "The aim is to reach out first to the senior population that needs the most help amid the reduction of bank branches and the acceleration of digital finance."
The Happy Dream Bus reflects the inclusive finance philosophy of Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo. "The essence of finance lies in embracing marginalized neighbors and fulfilling social responsibility," Ham has emphasized. "There is a need for sincere, field-centered support that seniors and vulnerable elderly populations can genuinely feel."
