S. Korea's Internet banking usage up in Q2

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- Usage of Internet banking in South Korea edged up in
the second quarter from three months earlier as more people went online to carry
out financial transactions, the central bank said Tuesday.
A daily average of 26.9 million fund transfers, record checks and loan
applications were conducted online in the April-June period, up 1.9 percent from
the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The amount of transactions involving Internet banking amounted to 28.35 trillion
won (US$22.78 billion) in the second quarter, up 5.2 percent from the first
quarter, it added.
As of the end of June, 55.57 million individuals and companies held online
banking accounts with 17 local lenders, the state-run Korea Post and HSBC
Holdings Plc., up 1.1 percent from three months earlier.
Internet banking accounted for 34.6 percent of the total electronic transactions
in the second quarter while 39 percent were carried out through cash dispensers
and automatic teller machines, the BOK said.
Nearly nine out of 10 households in South Korea has access to cheap broadband
Internet. The nation's computer usage is among the highest in the world.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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