Most South Korean smartphone users have used mobile payment system and they plan to do so more because of its convenience.

According to a poll conducted by local market tracker DMC Media on Tuesday, 79.1 percent of the 282 respondents said they used mobile payment service such as Samsung Pay and Kakao Pay at least once over the last six months. Of all female respondents, 87.3 percent had the experience, 14.9 percentage points more than 72.4 percent of male users.

The mobile simple payment service was in the highest use by those who are in their 30s as 85.7 percent of the 30-something respondents said they used the service, followed by those in their 20s with 82.4 percent and 40s with 68.5 percent.

About eight out of 10 respondents said they opted for the easy payment system via mobile devices due to its convenience. The second most common reason, with 42.2 percent response rate, was no need to carry physical cash or plastic cards, followed by promotional benefits (35.0 percent) and simple registration (34.1 percent).

More than half of the respondents, 60.5 percent, said they are willing to make more payments using mobile wallets, and 38.6 percent would maintain their current usage. Just 0.9 percent said they would cut down the use of mobile payment.

“Users place great importance on service convenience and security when it comes to mobile payment,” according to an official from DMC Media. “Service providers need to improve features related to private information protection and transaction reliability.”

By Lee Yong-ik and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]