Mobile payments in South Korea - statistics & facts
South Korea is moving quickly towards a cashless society. In 2024, only about 16 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.
