Seoul: Mobile and other non-physical card payments have become a dominant force in consumer spending, representing more than half of total card transactions last year, as revealed by recent data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

According to Yonhap News Agency, the daily average value of credit, debit, and prepaid card transactions by individuals and companies increased by 3.6 percent from the previous year, reaching 3.1 trillion won (US$2.05 billion) in 2025. This growth was largely driven by mobile and other non-physical payment methods, which surged 7.3 percent on-year to 1.7 trillion won. These methods include e-commerce purchases and in-store payments using card readers and QR code scanners.

In contrast, the use of physical cards saw a slight decline, with a 0.4 percent decrease, amounting to 1.4 trillion won. The share of mobile and other non-physical payments in total card spending reached an unprecedented 54.3 percent in 2025.

Additionally, the daily average volume of internet banking transactions, including mobile banking, at domestic banks grew by 10.9 percent on-year, totaling 28.29 million cases. The total value of these transactions increased by 3.4 percent, reaching 90.1 trillion won, as highlighted by the BOK data.