S. Korea’s electronic payments gain over 12% in H1

The amount of payments made electronically in the Republic of Korea advanced by more than 12% in the first half of the year from a year earlier, central bank data showed Friday, as a growing number of people engaged in contact-free commerce.

The daily average amount of electronic financial transactions came to 1.72 trillion won (US$1.24 billion) in the January-June period, up 12.8% from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), carried by Yonhap News Agency.

The daily average number of electronic financial transactions jumped 12.1% on-year to 36.75 million over the cited period.

Electronic financial transactions include all internet and mobile-based payments, as well as purchases made with electronic credit and debit cards.