SORA RENTAL NOTE · 39
How do I send a rental deposit to Korea from my home country?
Check the real beneficiary and bank instructions, plan for exchange and transfer costs, and confirm the amount received in won before treating your deposit as paid.
Content checked · 3 October 2026
The key points
- Get incoming-transfer instructions from the actual receiving bank and confirm the intended recipient.
- Ask about currency conversion, fees and timing before authorising the transfer.
- Keep the payment trail and verify the won amount actually credited toward your lease.
01 — 04
Start with the comic
Documents and screens are simplified illustrations. Check the sources below for actual forms and steps.
My family will send the deposit from home. What details do we need?
Check the agreed recipient, bank details and the lease together.
I’ll ask about fees and arrival time before sending.
Then confirm the actual won amount received for your deposit.
Confirm whose account receives the money
- Owner
- Receiving account
- Authority
First decide whether the money will arrive in your own Korean account before you pay the landlord, or go directly to an agreed recipient. Compare that plan with the lease payment instructions. If a different person’s account is proposed, ask why and confirm the recipient’s authority before sending; an international bank transfer is not a substitute for checking who should be paid.
Obtain the actual receiving bank’s current instructions. Hana Bank’s incoming-transfer FAQ, for example, lists its bank name, SWIFT code, branch name and address, account number, recipient’s English name and phone number. Use details supplied for the real account and bank, not codes copied from another bank’s example. Confirm any additional address fields required by the sender’s bank.
Work backwards from the won amount and due date
- Won amount received
- Exchange rate and fees
- Payment due date
If the lease calls for a deposit in Korean won, ask how much will actually reach the recipient in won after conversion and fees. Confirm who bears the sending, intermediary and receiving charges for the chosen route. Do not assume the amount entered by the sender is the amount the landlord will receive, or budget using a rate you saw on a different day.
Ask both banks about processing, any required purpose or source-of-funds information, and the expected arrival date. Leave room to correct a name or account-detail problem before the agreed payment deadline. There is no reliable universal arrival time for every international transfer, and a transfer request marked submitted should not be treated as proof of final receipt.
Connect the completed transfer to your lease
- 01Transfer processing
- 02Receipt and breakdown
- 03Contract terms
If a parent sends directly to the landlord, tell the landlord the sender’s name and which tenant, room and payment the transfer concerns. Ask for written acknowledgement once the money arrives. This makes the payment record understandable even though the sender’s name differs from the tenant’s; keep the lease and both sides’ payment records together.
Confirm the actual credited amount, not just the overseas debit. If a fee or conversion difference leaves a shortfall, agree how it will be settled and record the additional payment. If funds arrive in your own Korean account first, remember that the later domestic transfer has its own usable limits and timing to check.
What to check
- Confirm the authorised recipient and obtain that bank’s incoming-transfer instructions.
- Match the recipient name, account, bank details and requested address information.
- Ask about the net won amount, fee allocation and expected arrival before sending.
- Save completed transfer records and obtain acknowledgement of the deposit amount received.
Common questions
Can my parent send directly to the landlord?
Discuss the route with the landlord and banks first. Identify the tenant and purpose clearly, verify the correct recipient and retain written acknowledgement; do not assume a parent’s transfer will be automatically matched to your lease.
Is the sender’s transfer screenshot enough to prove full payment?
It helps document the request, but it may not show final receipt or the amount after conversion and charges. Verify the completed payment and the amount credited to the lease.
Official sources
Korean laws and guidance from public agencies, universities and service providers. Most originals are in Korean or English. School and product examples apply only within their stated scope.