Financial Transactions on Mobile Devices Have Increased

The past year has seen an increase in banking and other financial transactions done through mobile devices. With 8 out of 10 individuals using a smartphone integrated with the latest technology, it doesn't come as a surprise that the number of transactions on mobile platforms have gone up.

At the end of 2014, there have been 31.16 million banking transactions carried out on mobile devices in a day, amounting to 1.83 trillion won ($1.57 billion). The Bank of Korea (BOK) has reported that the number of transactions is up by 44% and the value at 30% compared to 2013, when transactions have reached 21.6 million and the value stands at 1.41 trillion won.

And consumers aren't the only ones using mobile banking. Retail investors are also dependent on their smartphones when carrying out daily operations and trades, especially equity.

At the end of 2014, a day's worth of trading done on mobile platforms has reached 2.25 trillion won, owing to the 98% (1.93 million) who use their smartphones out of the 1.97 million investors who trade via mobile devices in a year. In 2013, there have been 1.37 million investors conducting daily trades amounting to 1.94 trillion won.

With the increasing use of smartphones to access finances or carry out transactions, fewer people go for traditional systems and methods. In fact, the number of cash dispensers and ATMs in South Korea last year is 122,188, down by 1.6% from 2013. On the other hand, transactions have reached almost 800 million, falling by 1.1%. The funds withdrawn or transferred have amounted to 331 trillion won, falling by 5.4%.

As more and more people rely on mobile transactions, the number of IT employees has gone up as well, especially those who specialize in keeping electronic transactions secure.

The assistance of these professionals is highly needed after major setbacks in some financial firms. Lotte Card and KB Kookmin Card, for instance, have had to handle a big amount of information leak. Some local banks, including Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank, have had to deal with the same problem.