Following bus fare boxes and cafe counters, cash is now losing ground even in banks. Let's take a look at this article.

After opening a cash-free, paperless digital specialty branch in 2019, a commercial bank opened four more such branches this year.

Another bank opened a cash-free branch in January of last year.

As of the end of June this year, the number of bank ATMs nationwide stood at around 24,700, a decrease of 4,600 in less than four years.

The decline was generally larger in regional areas than in the Seoul metropolitan area.

However, cash remains a vital means of daily living for the elderly and low-income groups.

According to the 2025 payment settlement report released by the Bank of Korea, individuals' average monthly cash expenditure was 324,000 won, accounting to 17.4% of total spending.

For those in their 70s and older, that figure reached 32.4%.

The proportion of cash spending among low-income earners with a monthly income of less than 1 million won also stood at 59.4%, which is four times higher than that of high-income earners making 9 million won or more.

As cash-free locations driven by convenience and cost-cutting continue to increase, critics point out that the options for the elderly and low-income groups who rely on cash are rapidly shrinking.

(Source: Seoul Economic Daily)