Online Banking Up 24% in Korea
Use of Internet banking in Korea rose 24.8 percent in 2009 from a year earlier as more people went online for financial transactions, the central bank said yesterday.
Online bank transactions reached an average of 28 million per day last year, compared with 22.4 million in 2008, according to the Bank of Korea. The number is based on online users checking financial records, transferring funds or taking out loans.
The total value of Internet banking transactions came to 29.5 trillion won ($25.4 billion) per day, up 28.9 percent from a year earlier. The number of Internet banking subscribers registered online with 17 local banks, the state-run Korea Post and HSBC Holdings grew to 59.2 million as of the end of last year. The figure has grown by double digits since 2005, the BOK said.
The majority of transactions were conducted via computers, wireless handsets accounted for 6.1 percent of the total. Transactions via mobile platforms jumped 62.7 percent on-year to an average 1.72 million per day, the central bank said.
Nearly nine out of 10 households in Korea have access to cheap broadband Internet. The nation’s computer usage is among the highest in the world. Yonhap
