The Ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said North Korea is pursuing an expansion of electronic payment amid attempts to strengthen control in the economic sector.

An official from the unification ministry met with reporters on Thursday and said that the regime is reforming the payment system to reduce the amount of cash circulating in the market and expand card-based payments.

The official added that the move relates to Pyongyang’s enactment of the Electronic Payment Act in 2021 and revisions in July of this year.

The ministry explained that in the North, electronic payments generally refer to cashless transactions using bank accounts and are mainly used for the sale and purchase of goods and transfer of funds between companies.

According to North Korean sources, many in Pyongyang use the country’s mobile payment app Ullim 2.0, which allows for simplified offline payments through a unique QR code.