South Korea Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2030

The ‘South Korea Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2030' report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into South Korea cards and payments industry, including:

• Current and forecast values for each market in South Korea cards and payments industry, including debit, and credit cards.
• Detailed insights into payment instruments including cards, credit transfer, cash, direct debits and cheques. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.
• Ecommerce market analysis.
• Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing South Korea cards and payments industry.
• Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards.
• Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards.
• The competitive landscape of South Korea cards and payments industry.

The ‘South Korea Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2030' report provides detailed analysis of market trends in South Korea cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including debit, and credit cards during the review-period (2022-26e).

The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2026e-30f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including market shares of issuers and schemes.

The report brings together the analyst’s research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers detailed regulatory policies and recent changes in regulatory structure.

Key Highlights

• South Korea is advancing the modernization of its public transportation payment infrastructure through the introduction of tagless payment services on buses in the capital city Seoul. In October 2025, T-money Co. initiated a pilot deployment of tagless payment for public bus services within Seoul. The system, which was implemented on 590 buses across 36 routes, allows passengers to pay fares automatically without physically tapping a card or smart device. To use this service, passengers need to enable the tagless payment feature in the mobile T-money application. Payments are processed using a mobile sensor and Bluetooth Low Energy technology without requiring passengers to tap their transportation card or smartphone on a payment terminal. Currently, the service is only available on Android phones and a minimum balance of KRW3,000 ($2.11) is required for payment.
• Debit card penetration is near saturation. To increase its adoption and usage further, in April 2026, the FSC revised rules for debit card issuance to minors from 12 years old to seven years old, effective from May 4, 2026. This means individuals aged above seven can get a debit card under their name with parental guidelines.
• Samsung Pay is one of the leading digital wallets. It allows consumers to conduct in-store, in-app, and online payments. In October 2025, Samsung launched the Samsung Wallet Money feature; enabling users to load funds from an existing bank account. This eliminates the need for a physical card by allowing funds to be added electronically, which offers a streamlined alternative to conventional payment methods. In parallel, Samsung unveiled a rewards program dubbed as Samsung Wallet Points, which allows users to earn points on payments which can be redeemed on purchases at partner merchants. As of August 2025, Samsung Wallet had 19 million users in South Korea.

Scope

• Card market size in terms of number of cards, value and volume of transactions in South Korea along with detailed card segmentation of debit, and credit cards available in the country.
• Market sizing and analysis of major payment instruments including cards, credit transfer, cash, direct debits and cheques.
• Payment market trends and growth for both historical and forecast period
• Competitor analysis with detailed insights into leading card issuers and schemes.
• Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards.
• A detailed snapshot of country's key alternative payment brands.

Reasons to Buy

• Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to South Korea cards and payments industry and each market within it.
• Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in South Korea cards and payments industry.
• Assess the competitive dynamics in South Korea cards and payments industry.
• Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in South Korea.
• Gain insights into key regulations governing South Korea cards and payments industry.