Soldiers carry backpacks as they are out on leave at Seoul Station in this undated photo. Yonhap

Major commercial banks are courting conscripted military personnel as new customers in the middle of a demographic crisis, industry officials said Wednesday.

All four banking arms of the country's financial groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — plus the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) plan to join a bid in late April that selects debit card issuers for military draftees.

The bid is organized by the Military Mutual Aid Association, a military-affiliated agency dedicated to improving the welfare of service members.

The association has been assigning a new card issuer every eight or 10 years since 2007 when it adopted it as a new means of financial transactions over cash.

Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and IBK have served as the issuers so far.

Successful new bidders will have the right to run a check card business for eight years beginning in 2026 and secure nearly 20,000 military draftees as customers yearly over the corresponding period.

The association plans to pick three bidders this year.

"Winning the bid this time will be more crucial than in the past, as the number of young people has been shrinking and securing them as lifetime clients as early as possible is a key to sustaining the business," a PR official from a bidding bank said on condition of anonymity.

The official referred to enlisted military personnel mostly being in their 20s. The number of those in the age group is a little more than 6.01 million, which is lower than those in their 30s, 40s and other older groups.

Also asking not to be named, another bank's PR representative said the higher salary received by the soldiers is "behind the growing importance of managing the check card business and attracting more deposits."

Due to shorter periods of service, most of the enlisted military personnel opt to serve as soldiers over noncommissioned officers or officers.

Under the circumstances, hikes in monthly salary have been steeper for conscripts than those of noncommissioned officers or officers, and such salaries for this year increased from 100,000 won ($68) to 250,000 won depending on their ranks.

Correspondingly, a sergeant will earn 1.5 million won per month, and a private will earn 750,000 won.

"The deposit amount from the soldiers will be massive, and successful bidders can stably manage the amount for eight years," the representative said.

The banks are listing all possible means of financial benefits in their bidding strategy, including cash rewards and zero commission on currency exchange.

The bid is restricted to banks. To keep military customers as loyal clients after they are discharged, the bidding companies are teaming up with a brokerage or insurance arm of their respective financial groups to manage their assets in the long term.

For instance, Shinhan Bank is working with Shinhan Securities to offer a range of benefits such as gift certificates or vouchers in return for investment in Korea and abroad, as well as lower commission rates on U.S. stock trading.

Only offered to paid subscribers, a regular analysis of prospective stocks will be made available free of charge for military customers.

In cooperation with IBK Securities, IBK is considering offering financial education for free.

"We want to ensure that the services offered to military check cardholders last more than 18 months," a local bank's PR official said, referring to the mandatory military service period for soldiers.