Mobile payments in South Korea - statistics & facts

South Korea is moving quickly towards a cashless society. In 2021, only 14.6 percent of transactions in South Korea were made with cash, making it one of the leading cashless countries in the world. While COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital payment methods worldwide, the trend toward cashless payments was already on the rise in South Korea before the pandemic. The South Korean central bank announced back in 2015 that it was heading for a "coinless society" and set up a pilot project to test the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The already highly developed technological infrastructure and the fast-growing fintech industry formed the basis for the rapid financial innovation in South Korea.

The rise of mobile payments in South Korea

Amid this trend, the use of mobile payment services has surged in South Korea in recent years. The average daily value of mobile payment transactions has increased more than 13-fold since 2016. Also known as "easy payment services", mobile payment services in South Korea allow customers to make payments via smartphones using previously stored credit or debit card data. Users register their cards with the mobile payment service provider, which enables them to make online and offline payments using just a passcode or fingerprint scan, bypassing the complicated authentication process previously required. Mobile payment methods using electronic currency generated by loading a prepaid value onto the provider's service platform have also become increasingly popular.

Leading mobile payment providers

The mobile payment market in South Korea is dominated by large non-bank technology companies such as Kakao, Naver, Toss, and Samsung Electronics, which launched their services in 2014 and 2015. Naver Pay and KakaoPay are currently the most widely used services, the popularity of which is mainly due to the convenience of use. The rising market share of fintech companies has already put banks and card companies under enormous pressure. To counteract these challenges, banks and financial institutions have taken various measures to adapt and expand their payment services to meet the growing needs of customers. How this competition will affect the future of the payments market and drive further innovation are some of the interesting aspects of South Korea’s move toward a cashless society.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by L. Yoon, May 8, 2024

Key insights

Smartphone penetration rate
86%
Share of cash in total transactions
14.6%
Leading mobile payment provider
Naver Pay
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Value of credit card transactions in South Korea from 2002 to 2023 (in trillion South Korean won)

Financial Services

Credit card transaction value South Korea 2002-2023

Average daily value of mobile easy payment transactions made in South Korea from 2016 to 2023 (in billion South Korean won)

Fintech (Mobile/online banking)

Daily mobile payment transactions value South Korea 2016-2023

Market size of mobile easy payment services in South Korea from 2019 to 2023, by leading providers (in trillion South Korean won)

Payments

Mobile payment market size South Korea 2019-2023, by leading providers

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Overview

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Overview

Cashless payments

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Mobile payments

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Mobile payments

Market share

4

Market share

Leading providers

6

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Digital payments in the Asia-Pacific region
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QR code payments in Japan
QR code payments in Japan

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