Turning to Arirang now, more and more people are paying with cards rather than cash. In fact, some countries in Europe are already on track to becoming cashless societies. Will that make cash obsolete? And where does Korea stand in the mix? Hwang Ji-hye (황지혜) has the details.
Report

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European nations moving to become cashless societies

Digital transactions are quickly replacing cash in Sweden, where even street vendors carry card readers.

In fact, eight out of 10 major banks in the country no longer dispense or take cash.

Children have pocket money transferred into their accounts and they pay for things using debit cards, while adults seem to embrace the idea of having a cashless society.

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Christina / Swedish citizen
(Swedish)
"Going cash-free would be good for preventing crime."

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39% of payments in Korea last year made by card

Korea is seeing similar changes.

Last year, card payments accounted for 39 percent of all payments in the country, beating out cash transactions, which were at 36 percent.

And money transfers have been made easier than ever... with the introduction of smartphone banking apps.

On top of that, the Bank of Korea has announced a plan to get rid of coins by 2020.

[REPORTER]
Hwang Ji-hye

With these technological developments and the potential benefits of cashless societies, paper money and coins may soon become a thing of the past.

Hwang Ji-hye, Arirang News.