South Korea’s population reached 51.22 million at the end of 2019 but its rate of growth is expected to decrease from 0.1 percent to 0.09 percent from 2019 to 2020. The GDP of South Korea is about $334.98 million - up 1.3 percent in the last quarter of 2019 compared with the third quarter.
Mobile penetration in South Korea is 96 percent while the internet usage rate was at 91.6 percent. The mobile payments industry in South Korea is expected to record a CAGR of 12.8 percent and reach US$189.27 billion by 2025. The market is highly penetrated by electronic payments but cards are still the most preferred payment instruments. Ecommerce accounts for 6 percent of the country’s GDP. Each card is used for more than 100 transactions a year.
As a result of government policy for the development of wireless broadband technologies South Korea’s digital infrastructure is highly developed. More than half of all banks no longer accept cash deposits or withdrawals while a significant number of government institutions have gone cashless. South Korea can be the cashless champion of Asia by 2022.
