The use of mobile payment is on the rise with 25.2 percent of South Koreans having used the service within the past six months, the Bank of Korea said.

The survey on 2,500 adults conducted between June and July showed that the number of mobile payment users surged by 9.4 percentage points from the same period last year.

Mobile payment refers to paying for merchandise at stores or online using one’s mobile phone or other mobile devices.

By age, 41.8 percent of those in their 30s said they used mobile payment method within the past six months. Among those in their 40s, 35 percent used mobile devices for payment, while it was 33.6 percent for those in their 20s, 17.3 percent for those in their 50s and 5.0 percent for those aged 60 and over.

Of the users, 37.3 percent paid via mobile service once or twice a week, followed by 39.2 percent that said they used it one to three times a month, and 23.5 percent that said once or less a month.