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The Bank of Korea reported on September 18 that the daily average value of electronic financial transactions reached 1.72 trillion won in the January-June period, a 12.8 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. Central bank data showed the daily average number of transactions rose 12.1 percent to 36.75 million. These transactions include all internet and mobile-based payments as well as purchases completed with electronic credit and debit cards.
A separate Bank of Korea assessment released the same day placed the daily average value of prepaid electronic payment services at 1.55 trillion won, up 21.9 percent from a year earlier when the figure stood at 1.27 trillion won. Daily transaction volume for prepaid services increased 14.5 percent to 39.22 million, according to the central bank. Transportation-card payments within this category advanced 15.9 percent to a daily average of 15.2 billion won.
The Bank of Korea data indicated that simple-payment value climbed 23.1 percent to 237.2 billion won per day while simple remittances gained 19.9 percent to 1.16 trillion won. Across electronic financial firms, smartphone manufacturers and financial institutions, simple-payment services recorded a 16.8 percent rise in daily value to 1.23 trillion won with volume up 12.8 percent to 38.22 million. Electronic financial firms accounted for 55.4 percent of simple-payment value, a slight increase from 55.1 percent a year earlier.
Smartphone manufacturers held a 23.3 percent share of simple payments and financial institutions 21.2 percent, the Bank of Korea figures show. Credit cards remained the dominant method among electronic financial firms with a 58.1 percent share, followed by prepaid funds at 34.9 percent and account-based payments at 7.1 percent. The central bank tracks these categories as part of its regular review of electronic payment trends.
A Worldpay Global Payments Report released in 2026 projected that digital wallets will account for 46 percent of South Korea’s e-commerce transaction value by 2030. The report placed digital wallets at 35 percent of e-commerce spending in 2025 while credit cards held 49 percent that year, a share forecast to decline to 40 percent by the end of the decade. At physical points of sale, digital wallets were expected to rise from 24 percent in 2025 to 31 percent in 2030 according to the same assessment.
The Bank of Korea noted that prepaid services enable payments for goods, transportation or money transfers using either prepaid funds or linked bank accounts. Most prepaid activity flowed through financial service providers where the daily value rose 21.4 percent to 1.50 trillion won, central bank data showed. The latest release forms part of the Bank of Korea’s ongoing monitoring of how digital methods have become central to consumer and commercial activity.
