The number of mobile banking users in South Korea jumped 9.9 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier due to strong demand for such services by smartphone users, data by the central bank showed Tuesday.

The number of mobile banking users reached 33 million as of the end of September, up 9.9 percent from three months before, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The users are registered with 17 local banks, the state-run Korea Post and HSBC Holdings' local branches.

The jump was attributable to solid demand from smartphone users. Mobile banking service subscribers through smartphones surged 18.2 percent on-quarter to 19.84 million as of end-September.

The number of mobile banking usage, including checking bank accounts and transferring funds, reached a daily average of 13.30 million in the third quarter, up 9.9 percent from the previous quarter. Mobile banking usage through smartphones numbered 13.25 million, accounting for 99.7 percent of the total mobile banking.

The daily mobile banking transaction came in at 973.4 billion won (893 million U.S. dollars) during the July-September period, up 7.1 percent from three months before. Banking transaction through smartphones amounted to 891.3 billion won, taking up 91.6 percent of the total banking transaction.

As of the end of September, the daily average Internet banking usage, including mobile banking, increased 3.4 percent on-quarter to 47.73 million in the third quarter, and the daily Internet banking transactions edged up 0.2 percent to 33.18 trillion won. Endi