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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] According to the Bank of Korea’s “2025 Survey on Currency Usage by Economic Agents” released on the 28th, the average monthly cash expenditure per individual in 2025 fell to KRW 324,000, a 36.0% decline from KRW 506,000 in 2021. The share of cash in total expenditures also dropped from 21.6% to 17.4%, a decrease of 4.2 percentage points. Notably, small cash transactions under KRW 500,000 accounted for more than 80% of total cash spending.
Cash usage among companies declined even more sharply. The average monthly cash expenditure per company was KRW 1.127 million, down significantly from KRW 9.117 million in 2021, with cash representing only 1.9% of total expenditures. The largest reductions were observed in the manufacturing sector and among companies with 10–50 employees.
Despite the decline in cash spending, both individuals and companies increased their cash holdings substantially. The average cash holding per individual rose 47.7% from 2021 to KRW 644,000, with KRW 103,000 for transactional use and KRW 541,000 held as precautionary reserves. Cash reserves increased notably among low-income households, narrowing the gap in holdings by income level.
Corporate cash holdings also more than doubled, reaching an average of KRW 9.778 million compared with KRW 4.695 million in 2021. The proportion of companies holding more than KRW 10 million in cash increased from 6.4% to 12.8%.
알파경제 Kim Jisun (stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
