Decrease in Card Payment Growth in First Half, Rapid Surge in Use of Simple Payment Methods

원본보기 아이콘

The scale of card usage by our citizens in the first half of the year increased compared to the previous year. However, the growth in usage slowed due to the impact of high inflation and high interest rates. As simple payments through mobile devices have become more active, the use of physical cards is gradually decreasing.

According to the "2024 First Half Domestic Payment Trends" announced by the Bank of Korea on the 24th, the average daily domestic payment card usage in the first half of this year was 3.4 trillion KRW, a 3.9% increase compared to 3.3 trillion KRW recorded in the same period last year.

The daily average payment card usage growth rate rose from 12.4% in the first half of 2022 to 13% in the second half of 2022, then continuously slowed to 8.4% in the first half of last year and 4.2% in the second half.

By type in the first half of this year, both credit cards (+4.1%) and check cards (+3.2%) showed slight increases. However, the growth rate of credit cards, which are postpaid, slowed due to delayed recovery in private consumption, while the growth rate of check cards, which are debit type, expanded. Prepaid cards (-16.0%) continued to decline due to the termination of some card companies' local love gift certificate businesses.

During the first half, the scale of non-face-to-face payments averaged 1.2 trillion KRW per day, a 2.4% increase compared to the same period last year, whereas face-to-face payments averaged 1.7 trillion KRW per day, a 1.0% decrease. The proportion of non-face-to-face payments in total usage (40.6%) has been continuously increasing since the second half of 2022 (38.8%).

By access device, the payment scale using mobile devices, etc. (excluding physical cards) increased (+4.1%), while the payment scale using physical cards decreased (-3.4%). The proportion of payments using mobile devices, etc. in total usage (52.1%) is continuously expanding.

Among the payment scale using mobile devices, etc. (excluding physical cards) (average daily 1.5 trillion KRW), the proportion using simple payment services based on cards such as Samsung Pay, Kakao Pay, and Naver Pay (50.7%) is continuously expanding thanks to high convenience. It was 46.9% during the same period last year.

The usage scale of bills and checks during the first half (average daily 15.9 trillion KRW) increased by 6.2% compared to the same period last year (15.0 trillion KRW). Demand drafts decreased (-13.7%) compared to the same period last year for both fixed and non-fixed amounts, but bills increased (+9.7%) mainly due to electronic bills.

The scale of account transfers through small payment networks during the first half (average daily 99.9 trillion KRW) increased by 8.6% compared to the same period last year (92.0 trillion KRW).

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.