Online Transactions Amid COVID-19... Daily Average Electronic Payment Amounts to 676.9 Billion Won

"Significant Increase in Food and Delivery Performance"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eunbyeol] With the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and the expansion of non-face-to-face online transactions, the usage performance of electronic payment services in the first half of the year recorded an all-time high.

According to the Bank of Korea's "Status of Electronic Payment Service Usage in the First Half of 2020" released on the 14th, the usage performance of electronic payment gateway services averaged 17.82 million transactions per day, amounting to 676.9 billion KRW, increasing by 32.0% and 15.3% respectively compared to the previous period.

Electronic payment gateway services refer to services that transmit and receive payment information or mediate and settle payments so that the payment from the buyer in electronic commerce can be ultimately paid to the seller.

A Bank of Korea official stated, "The increase continued as non-face-to-face online transactions expanded due to social distancing measures implemented amid the spread of COVID-19," adding, "Performance significantly increased mainly among companies that primarily mediate online payments for food, daily necessities, and food delivery." The daily average transaction amount of electronic payment gateway services continues to break records.

The usage performance of prepaid electronic payment services, which issue and manage prepaid funds that can be used to pay transportation fees, commercial transaction payments, or remittances, recorded an average of 19.98 million transactions per day and 430.6 billion KRW. While the number of transactions decreased by 0.6% compared to the previous period, the transaction amount increased by 26.9%.

The number of transactions decreased due to reduced public transportation usage amid the spread of COVID-19, leading to fewer transportation card transactions, but the amount increased due to factors such as the distribution of emergency disaster relief funds.

The usage performance of payment escrow services also increased by 20.0% and 17.2% respectively compared to the previous period, recording 2.54 million transactions and 115.2 billion KRW per day. Escrow services receive payments from buyers in electronic commerce, verify that the transaction was properly completed through processes such as confirming receipt of goods, and then pay the purchase amount to the seller. This also continued to increase mainly among online sales brokerage companies.

In the first half of the year, the usage performance of simple payment and simple remittance services averaged 7.31 million transactions and 213.9 billion KRW per day, increasing by 8.0% and 12.1% respectively compared to the previous period. This service refers to payment and remittance services using simple authentication methods (e.g., passwords) after the mandatory use of public certification was abolished. It has been surveyed separately from payment service statistics since 2016.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.