Due to the impact of COVID-19, outbound travelers sharply decreased... Overseas card spending halved

Bank of Korea 'Resident Card Overseas Usage Performance in Q2'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), overseas travel became impossible, causing the amount spent on cards used abroad in the second quarter to drop to half the level of the first quarter.

According to the overseas card usage performance of residents announced by the Bank of Korea on the 27th, the amount spent on cards (credit, check, debit) abroad by domestic residents in the second quarter was $1.87 billion.

This is a 48.7% decrease compared to the amount used in the first quarter of this year ($3.65 billion). Compared to the second quarter of last year, it decreased by 60.3%. It was the lowest quarterly amount in 10 years since the second quarter of 2010 ($1.744 billion).

Compared to the first quarter, the usage amounts of credit cards (-50.6%), check cards (-44.0%), and debit cards (-38.4%) all decreased. The Bank of Korea explained, "This is due to a sharp decline in the number of domestic travelers abroad as the spread of COVID-19 continues."

According to data from the Tourism Knowledge Information System of the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute cited by the Bank of Korea, the number of domestic travelers abroad decreased from 6.59 million in the fourth quarter of last year to 3.7 million in the first quarter of this year. In the second quarter, it dropped to 120,000, a nearly 97% decrease compared to the first quarter.

However, some demand such as online overseas direct purchases continued, so the decrease in card usage performance was smaller than the decline in the number of travelers abroad. According to Statistics Korea, overseas direct purchases slightly decreased from $820 million in the first quarter to $750 million in the second quarter.

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