Card Spending Abroad Plummets 25.3% in Q1... Impact of Complete Overseas Travel Suspension

Bank of Korea 'Q1 Resident Card Overseas Usage Performance'

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) spread, overseas travel and business trips were virtually halted, causing a sharp decline in overseas card spending in the first quarter.

According to the Bank of Korea's "Resident Overseas Card Usage Performance in Q1 2020" released on the 26th, the amount spent by residents of South Korea using cards overseas in the first quarter was $3.6 billion, down 25.3% from $4.81 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. The card usage amount includes credit cards, check cards, and debit cards.

Overseas card spending in the first quarter decreased by 23.0% compared to the first quarter of last year.

The cause was the sharp decline in the number of domestic travelers departing abroad due to the spread of COVID-19. According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute's Tourism Knowledge Information System, the number of domestic travelers departing abroad in March was only 140,000. The number of departures was 2.51 million in January, but dropped sharply to 1.05 million in February and 140,000 in March. The total number of departures in the first quarter was 3.7 million, which is more than half less compared to 7.86 million in the same period last year.

By card type, credit card usage was $2.557 billion, down 28.0% from the previous quarter, and check card usage ($1.08 billion) decreased by 17.6%. Debit card usage was $32 million, down 15.3%.

The amount spent per card also decreased by 14.8% from the previous quarter and 9.7% from the same period last year, to $247 per card.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.