The use of Internet banking in South Korea accelerated in the third quarter from three months earlier as more people conducted financial transactions online, the central bank said Monday.

Online banking transactions reached an average of 38.7 million per day in the July-September period, up 1.4 percent from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea.

The third-quarter data valued at 32 trillion won ($29.1 billion) quickened from a 0.8 percent expansion tallied in the second quarter. The data is based on users checking financial records, transferring funds or taking out loans via the Internet.

The number of Internet banking subscribers registered with the 19 local financial firms rose 2.9 percent on-quarter to 72.9 million as of the end of September.

The majority of transactions were conducted via computers, but the weight of mobile banking, or banking services accessed via wireless handsets, has been on the rise.

Transactions based on mobile banking made up for 20 percent of total Internet banking use, up from 18.7 percent three months earlier. The value of such transactions climbed 8.5 percent on-quarter to a daily average of 662 billion won, the BOK said.

Mobile banking via smartphones, a service that was introduced in December 2009, showed sustained growth on the back of the devices’ popularity. The number of transactions based on smartphones reached 6.4 million valued at 421 billion won in the third quarter.

Nearly nine out of 10 households in South Korea have access to cheap broadband Internet. The nation‘s computer penetration rate is among the highest in the world. 

(Yonhap News)