{"id":231286,"date":"2025-10-29T03:09:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T03:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/231286\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T03:09:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T03:09:15","slug":"korea-quickly-going-cashless-as-some-get-left-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/231286\/","title":{"rendered":"Korea quickly going cashless as some get left behind"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Japanese <\/p>\n

Japanese content creator Shige thanks a bus driver after he told her not to worry about paying the fare when her transportation card balance ran out as seen in this YouTube video. [SCREEN CAPTURE]<\/p>\n

\u00a0
When a Japanese tourist recently found herself stranded at a Seoul bus stop with an empty transit card and no cash, a driver quietly waved her aboard. The gesture \u2014 captured on video \u2014 has charmed Koreans online. But behind the warmth lies a colder truth: In a country racing toward a cashless future, those without cards or apps are increasingly left behind.
\u00a0
Cash transactions are disappearing quickly as more cafes, restaurants and public transport systems stop accepting bills and coins. Experts say the rise of central bank digital currency (CBDC) discussions will likely accelerate the shift, but they also stress the need for safeguards to protect people who still rely on cash.
\u00a0
Cash accounted for 15.9 percent of all payments by transaction volume in 2024, trailing credit cards at 46.2 percent and debit cards at 16.4 percent, according to the Bank of Korea\u2019s (BOK) survey on payment instruments and mobile financial services released earlier this year.
\u00a0
That\u2019s down sharply from 41 percent in 2013, marking a decade-long decline. Usage was highest among those in their 60s and older, at 30.2 percent.
\u00a0
\"A <\/p>\n

A bus displaying a banner reading \u201cCashless Bus\u201d operates near a bus stop in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 1, 2023. Starting that day, the Seoul Metropolitan Government expanded its cashless bus program from 18 routes with 436 buses to 108 routes with 1,876 buses. [NEWS1]<\/p>\n

\u00a0
As cash use dwindles, more public transit systems are refusing it entirely.\u00a0One of the clearest examples is public buses.\u00a0
\u00a0
10 out of\u00a017 metropolitan cities and provinces have introduced cashless buses, according to data released by Rep. Jung Tae-ho of the Democratic Party on Tuesday.
\u00a0
Six regions \u2014 Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon, Sejong, Incheon, and Jeju \u2014 have adopted the system fully, while Seoul, Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong and South Jeolla are implementing it partially.
\u00a0
Franchise chains are following suit. Starbucks stopped accepting cash at some locations back in 2018, and a growing number of unmanned stores and restaurant kiosks now only take cards or mobile payments.
\u00a0
\"A <\/p>\n

A customer uses a kiosk at a food court in a Seoul shopping mall on March 27. [NEWS1]<\/p>\n

\u00a0
The shift has raised concerns at the institutions responsible for minting money. The BOK and the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (Komsco) commissioned a confidential study this year on strategies for developing the minting industry in response to declining cash use.
\u00a0
The report, obtained by Rep. Jung\u2019s office, found that currency issuance is falling rapidly. Annual issuance, currently at 400 million to 800 million notes, is projected to decline to 310 million to 440 million notes by 2035, potentially dropping by nearly half within a decade.
\u00a0
Demand for 5,000-won bills, worth about $3.5, may fall by around 10 million, and for 1,000-won notes \u2014 which are often used for change \u2014 by about 100 million.
\u00a0
Given the pace of change, the report recommended maintaining a transitional buffer by gradually scaling down production. It noted that \u201cbased on an issuance rate of roughly 400 million notes per year, Komsco should secure time to adjust its facilities and work force.\u201d\u00a0
\u00a0
It also suggested the central bank consider issuing new banknotes to maintain circulation quality and security standards.
\u00a0
\"ATMs <\/p>\n

ATMs are seen at a street in Seoul on Jan. 31. [NEWS1]<\/p>\n

\u00a0
The report also pointed to declining access to cash through ATMs, particularly in smaller rural areas such as Shinan county in South Jeolla, where availability stands at 24.3 percent, Gunwi County in North Gyeongsang at 31.4 percent and Bonghwa County in North Gyeongsang at 33.5 percent.
\u00a0
It urged policymakers to look to international examples of financial inclusion. Britain has expanded fee-free ATMs in low-income areas, while Sweden amended its Payment Services Act to legally require major banks to handle cash. Several U.S. states have banned cashless stores altogether to protect economically vulnerable consumers.
\u00a0
Kim Sang-bong, an economics professor at Hansung University, said that while innovations such as CBDCs are important, some level of exclusion is \u201cinevitable.\u201d
\u00a0
\u201cPayment systems are a basic right for citizens, but the pace of change \u2014 like the move to cashless buses \u2014 is too fast,\u201d he said. \u201cPolicy decisions should place greater emphasis on the needs of older adults and foreigners.\u201d
\u00a0
Rep. Jung added that it may be time for the government to ensure minimal cash payment options in public services.\u00a0
\u00a0
\u201cFor older adults and foreigners unfamiliar with mobile payments, there should be institutional guarantees to preserve basic cash payment rights in public sectors,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM YEON-JOO [[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japanese content creator Shige thanks a bus driver after he told her not to worry about paying the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-231286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}