Mobile banking transactions in Korea hit $5b in H1 2019

Internet-only banks drove robust adoption.

The value of daily transactions through mobile banking in South Korea rose 10.8% YoY to hit a new high of $5b (KRW6.04t) in the first six months of 2019, according to central bank data cited by Xinhua. 

The steady growth of mobile banking comes after the launch of the country's two internet-only banks in 2017 which easily captured the tech-savvy millennial demographic. 

Daily mobile banking usage rose from $3.1b (KRW3.7t) in H1 2019 to $4.3b (KRW5.2t) in the first half of 2018. The number of daily mobile banking usage similarly increased by 15.5% YoY to 9.09 million in the first half. 

Also read: Korea sets up open interbank payment network to boost fintech

The average number of banking transactions processed via the Internet rose 25.3% YoY to 118.97 million, crossing the 100-million mark for the first time and the amount hit nearly $40b (KRW47.5t), according to central bank data. 

The number of registered Internet and mobile banking service users rose 4.1% YoY to 152.62 million by end-June.