Shared Mobility Services... Payments Triple in 4 Years

Trends in Shared Mobility Service Usage
Based on Hyundai Card Payment Data

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The number of payments for shared mobility services has more than tripled over the past four years. Despite the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it is expected to surpass 2 million transactions annually this year.

According to Hyundai Card on the 9th, an analysis of payment data from 21 shared mobility service merchants from 2017 to October this year showed that the number of transactions and payment amounts increased by 219% (3 times) and 109% (2 times), respectively. The shared mobility service sector includes three categories: shared cars, shared bicycles, and shared kickboards.

The number of shared mobility payments, which was 643,248 in 2017, reached 1,708,200 by October this year, and is expected to exceed 2 million transactions annually. The payment amount was 11.08407 billion KRW in 2017, and recorded 19.27127 billion KRW by October this year, expected to approach 23.5 billion KRW by the end of the year.

In particular, growth has continued despite COVID-19. The number of shared mobility service payments up to October this year is already 1.5 times that of last year (1,129,417 transactions). The payment amount has also already surpassed last year’s total (18.96294 billion KRW).

Shared Kickboard Payments Expected to Surpass 750,000 by Year-End

By category, shared kickboard services have shown remarkable growth. There were no shared kickboard payments in 2017, but 1,288 transactions occurred in 2018 and 155,216 in 2019. This year, the number surged to 625,866 by October and is expected to exceed 750,000 by year-end.

By age group, people in their 20s are the most active users of shared mobility services, while the increase in usage among those in their 50s and 60s is also notable. Compared to 2017, payment transactions in 2020 increased by 145%, 262%, and 401% for those in their 20s, 30s, and 40s respectively, while those in their 50s and 60s and above increased by 515% and 659%, respectively.

The background of this growth appears to be a change in consumer perception that owning a means of transportation is not essential. Hyundai Card, together with the research firm Open Survey, conducted a perception survey on 1,000 men and women aged 20 to 59 who have experience using shared mobility services. As a result, 38% of respondents answered "yes" to the question "Did you think two years ago that it was not necessary to own a means of transportation?" while 53% answered "yes" to the question "Do you currently think it is not necessary to own a means of transportation?"

The vehicle subscription service market is also rapidly growing. According to Hyundai Card’s payment data analysis, the number of vehicle subscription service payments, which was 337 in 2019, reached 839 by October this year and is expected to exceed 1,000 annually.

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