S. Korea’s use of internet banking services rises in double digits in 2020

South Korea’s usage of internet banking services rose in double digits last year as people refrained from going to offline bank branches amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Monday.

The daily average number of internet banking services usage, including mobile banking, came in at 13.33 million in 2020, up 11.9 percent from the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

In terms of value, the daily internet banking services averaged 58.7 trillion won (52 billion U.S. dollars) last year, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier. The double-digit increase came as people preferred online banking services amid the fear of the COVID-19 infection.

The daily average number of money transfer through internet banking grew 11.9 percent in 2020 from the previous year, with the figure for loan application soaring 39.4 percent.

The number of internet banking users was 170.37 million as of the end of 2020, up 7.0 percent from a year earlier. The reading includes all registered users at 18 internet and mobile banking services providers.

The number of mobile banking users gained 10.6 percent to 133.73 million last year.