Card usage, whether credit or debit, is on the rise to replace cash as Korea’s main payment method. It is no longer rare to find people live their daily lives without cash.

A recent survey of 1,000 card holders on their preferred payment method, conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency, found that credit cards are the most preferred, followed by debit cards and cash. If credit or debit card usage are combined, 9 out of 10 prefer to pay with plastic.

As the nation’s financial authority plans to introduce the electronic payment via smartphones as early as the end of this year, the proportion of cash payments might fall further in the near future. If the new payment method catches on, however, it could hamper the dominance of card payments.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)