Cash goes digital in North Korea as country embraces online payments, ATMs
Published: 08 Aug. 2025, 09:58
![A mobile phone screen showing an electronic payment system is seen in this photo released by the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, on Aug. 7. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/08/6fd2190c-71cf-48b5-89b4-f05eea61f1ee.jpg)
A mobile phone screen showing an electronic payment system is seen in this photo released by the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, on Aug. 7. [YONHAP]
Like China’s increasingly cashless society, electronic payments appear to be gaining traction in Pyongyang, North Korea, according to a new report.
“The globally expanding mobile phone-based electronic payment services are becoming mainstream in Pyongyang,” reported the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, on Thursday. “It is now rare to see buyers paying in cash at commercial and service facilities in the capital.”
In North Korea, the system is referred to as “electronic wallets.” These can be used not only at restaurants and shops, but also to pay for public transportation or recharge mobile phone balances.
The report mentioned systems called “Samhung,” “Jeonseong” and “Manmulsang” as examples of popular digital payment platforms.
The paper also reported that “Hwawon E-Bank” opened in October last year. The bank is believed to be North Korea’s version of an online-only bank, similar to Korea’s KakaoBank, or K Bank. It has reportedly installed ATMs at major department stores, hospitals and pharmacies in Pyongyang and provincial areas, with growing usage.
Ri Kyong-il, a department head at Hwawon E-Bank, told the newspaper that the bank developed ATMs that “can support various types of electronic payment systems, as electronic payments have become widespread in our country.”
![A plaque reading ″Hwawon E-Bank″ is seen at a bank in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, on Aug. 7. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/08/9273844d-c7d4-48f8-837f-2860775e0bc5.jpg)
A plaque reading ″Hwawon E-Bank″ is seen at a bank in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, on Aug. 7. [YONHAP]
Through the bank’s ATMs, users can withdraw or deposit funds, check their balances, transfer money and recharge their electronic wallets, the report said.
In general, widespread adoption of cashless payments leads to a decline in ATM usage. In China, where platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay are dominant, the number of ATMs fell to 802,700 at the end of last year — a 26.87 percent drop from 1.1 million in 2019.
But North Korea appears to be in a transitional phase, using ATMs as a bridge between physical cash and digital currency.
Analysts say Pyongyang’s push to expand electronic payments may also be driven by a desire to strengthen the ruling Workers’ Party’s control over the economy and society, as digital transactions can be fully tracked, unlike cash.
![Automated teller machines (ATMs) of Hwawon E-Bank, a new bank that opened in North Korea, are seen in this photo released by the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, on Aug. 7. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/08/919625f8-25bb-456b-9a76-e0e810f4e35c.jpg)
Automated teller machines (ATMs) of Hwawon E-Bank, a new bank that opened in North Korea, are seen in this photo released by the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, on Aug. 7. [YONHAP]
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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