Card firms on edge as young consumers shift to cardless payments

Kim, a 20-something office worker at a telecommunications company in Seoul, recently began using a payment service powered by facial recognition technology. She said that although the registration process was a bit lengthy, once completed, it was very convenient since she could make payments simply by showing her face, without needing a wallet or smartphone. “I was surprised by how fast it was. It was so quick that I even doubted whether the payment had actually gone through,” she said. The trend of making payments without physical cards is rapidly gaining momentum as younger consumers like Kim increasingly move away from traditional card payments, driven by the growing adoption of facial recognition systems such as Toss Face Pay and simple payment services like Kakao Pay. This shift has raised concerns within the credit card industry about losing younger customers, who are viewed as key drivers of future consumption. Data from the Financial Supervisory Service shows that the total card spending by eight major issuers — Shinhan, Samsung, Hyundai, KB Kookmin, Lotte, Hana, Woori and BWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times