The South Korean payment card market, including point-of-sale ( POS ) payments and ATM cash withdrawals, is forecast to grow by 3.8% to reach 1.4 quadrillion Korean won ( US$1.0 trillion ) in 2025, driven by growing preference for digital payments, according to a recent report.

Payment cards value in South Korea registered a healthy compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) of 7.8% between 2020 and 2024, reaching 1.3 quadrillion won in 2024, finds data and analytics firm GlobalData’s Payment Card Analytics report.

On the other hand, total ATM cash withdrawals, the report reveals, registered a low CAGR of 0.9% during the same period, due to a reduced usage of cards for withdrawals.

Payment cards are mostly used for payments at POS terminals rather than cash withdrawals, with the share of payments at POS estimated to reach 96.1% in 2025. The high usage of cards at POS terminals can be attributed to the rising consumer awareness and well-developed POS terminalization.

Card payment transaction volume is estimated by the report to rise from 24.2 billion in 2021 to 30.7 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 6.2%. This figure is forecast to reach 35.9 billion by 2029.

To boost acceptance of card payments among small and medium enterprises ( SMEs ), payment company NHN KCP, in collaboration with Verifone, launched an all-in-one POS terminal, called KCP Terminal The Black, in January. This versatile terminal, the report notes, operates as a POS, kiosk and card payment terminal, accommodating a wide range of payment options, including cards, Apple Pay, QR and barcode payments, and various mobile wallets.

Over 53% of the respondents in South Korea, according to GlobalData’s 2024 Financial Services Consumer Survey, indicated having access to a contactless card and using it for payments.

To broaden the applications of contactless card payments, Jeju Island signed an agreement in July 2025 with six organizations, including the Korea Payment Service Promotion Agency, to make payments for Jeju bus fares more convenient.

This initiative, the report shares, seeks to simplify the payment process by allowing bus fares to be paid with contactless credit cards that lack transportation card functions, eliminating the necessity to buy or recharge separate transportation cards.

“The South Korean payment card market is poised for sustained growth over the next five years, supported by increasing consumer awareness of digital payments and advancements in payment infrastructure,” says Shivani Gupta, the data firm’s lead banking and payments analyst. “The rise in e-commerce and contactless payments will also contribute to this growth. The payment cards market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 3.6% between 2025 and 2029 to reach 1.6 quadrillion won in 2029.”