South Korea POS Terminals - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)

The south korea pOS terminals market size reached USD 3.63 billion in 2026 and is projected to hit USD 5.07 billion by 2031, reflecting a 6.88% CAGR over the forecast period. This report is Segmented by Mode of Payment Acceptance (Contact-Based, and Contactless), POS Type (Fixed Point-Of-Sale Systems, and Mobile/Portable Point-Of-Sale Systems), Component (Hardware, Software, and Services), Deployment Mode (Cloud-Based, and On-Premise), and End-User Industry (Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare, and More). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

South Korea POS Terminals Market Trends and Insights

Surge in Smart POS Installations Across Large Retail Chains

Major chains are rolling out Android-based smart devices that fuse payment, loyalty, and inventory lookup on a single terminal, shrinking queues and lowering labor costs. Shinsegae I and C reported KRW 625.7 billion (USD 434 million) in 2024 revenue after coupling cloud POS with AI self-checkout across its stores. GS Retail migrated roughly 18,000 franchise outlets to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, cutting profit-and-loss report generation from 40 minutes to 40 seconds. National retail sales climbed to KRW 179.1 trillion (USD 124.6 billion) in 2024, fueling terminal refresh cycles. The upside is balanced by integration hurdles when legacy back-office systems cannot parse GS1 Application Identifiers for variable-weight produce.

Rapid Adoption of Contactless and Mobile Wallet Payments

Samsung Pay, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, and Toss now dominate urban point-of-sale environments, and Apple Pay’s 2025 expansion with Shinhan and KB Kookmin Cards showcased pent-up NFC demand. Yet only about 10% of stores possessed compliant readers by March 2025, with each upgrade costing roughly KRW 200,000 (USD 138). Eight card issuers adopted an EMVCo-aligned QR standard in June 2024, easing hardware constraints. Meanwhile, Bank of Korea completed ISO 20022 migration for real-time settlement, shortening authorization cycles.

Persistent Data-Security and Cyber-Fraud Concerns

The August 2025 Lotte Card breach leaked data on 2.97 million users, spotlighting vulnerabilities and triggering demand for PCI-PTS 6.x hardware encryption. SK Telecom’s USIM hack the same year forced regulators to tighten wallet oversight. Revised enforcement decrees now impose stricter capital and transaction ceilings on payment gateways. Budget-constrained merchants, however, often delay upgrades because secure processors add cost and integration complexity.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:

• Government Push Toward a Cashless Economy (Zero Pay Roll-out)
• Expansion of E-commerce-Driven Omni-Channel Fulfilment
• High Up-Front Hardware Costs for Small Merchants

Segment Analysis

Contact-based devices held 70.62% share in 2025, mirroring the installed base across 2.9 million merchant locations. Yet contactless volumes are set for a 7.54% CAGR to 2031, pushing the South Korea POS terminals market toward wider NFC and QR coverage. Apple Pay’s wider issuer roster adds urgency for NFC upgrades, and the common QR standard cuts reliance on proprietary hardware. Ingenico’s AXIUM CX9000 and Verifone’s X990, both PCI-PTS 6.x certified, give retailers multi-interface platforms. With NFC modules priced above magnetic-stripe readers, Samsung Pay’s magnetic secure transmission preserves legacy acceptance, slowing convergence. Government cashless incentives and falling unit prices, however, will narrow the gap, making contactless acceptance mainstream before 2031. The South Korea POS terminals market size for contactless solutions is therefore poised to expand meaningfully, provided subsidy frameworks offset merchant upgrade expenses.

As EMVCo-aligned QR rolls out nationwide, retailers gain an immediate path to contactless payments without buying new readers. Bank of Korea’s ISO 20022 settlement rails give acquirers faster fund availability, improving merchant cash flow. Meanwhile, GS1 mandates on QR and DataMatrix codes for variable-weight goods oblige scanner upgrades, further encouraging retailers to adopt dual-mode terminals. Together, these factors accelerate the shift toward contactless, even as chip-and-PIN devices remain prominent through the forecast horizon.

Fixed systems controlled 55.34% share in 2025 thanks to countertop deployments in supermarkets and department stores. Mobile and portable devices are forecast to grow at 7.67% annually, winning last-mile delivery, curbside pickup, and in-aisle checkout use cases. Bluebird’s SP60-M and Point Mobile’s P8, each weighing under 300 grams, come with built-in printers and secure elements, making them attractive for couriers and field staff.

TSC’s 2024 purchase of Bluebird consolidated mobile POS, RFID, and tablets under one roof, signaling a strategic pivot toward portable devices. Yet high-throughput grocery lanes still require fixed units with cash drawers and dual monitors, a niche served by POSBANK’s MINT and EDGE 1560 models. Mobile devices dominate fast-moving hospitality and logistics, while fixed systems persist in large basket retail where peripheral integration matters.

Complete Report Scope:

• By Mode of Payment Acceptance
  • Contact-based
  • Contactless
• By POS Type
  • Fixed Point-of-Sale Systems
  • Mobile / Portable Point-of-Sale Systems
• By Component
  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Services
• By Deployment Mode
  • Cloud-based
  • On-Premise
• By End-User Industry
  • Retail
  • Hospitality
  • Healthcare
  • Transportation and Logistics
  • Other End-User Industries

List of Companies Covered in this Report:

• Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Inc.
• Fujitsu Korea Ltd.
• HANASIS Co., Ltd.
• EES Corp Co., Ltd.
• Hwasung System Co., Ltd.
• KIS Information and Communication Inc.
• KOVAN Co., Ltd.
• BITEL Co., Ltd.
• Kwangwoo I&C Co., Ltd.
• Brilliant POS Systems Co., Ltd.
• PosBank Co., Ltd.
• Samsung SDS Co., Ltd.
• LG CNS Co., Ltd.
• KSNet Co., Ltd.
• NICE Information and Telecommunication Inc.
• Hyundai Card Co., Ltd.
• Woosung Data System Co., Ltd.
• Vanstone Electronic (Korea) Co., Ltd.
• Ingenico Korea Ltd.
• Verifone Korea Ltd.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support