Despite the 4th Wave of COVID-19... Card Usage in Q3 This Year Up 8.6%

Yeosin Association Announces Card Approval Performance for Q3 2021

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Despite the 4th wave of COVID-19, the card approval amount in the third quarter increased by nearly 10%. With growing expectations for the phased return to normal life called 'With Corona' starting next month, card consumption is expected to continue rising in the fourth quarter as well.

On the 29th, the Credit Finance Association's Credit Finance Research Institute announced the '2021 3rd Quarter Card Approval Performance,' reporting that the total card (credit, check, prepaid cards) approval amount in the third quarter of this year reached 248 trillion KRW, an 8.6% increase compared to the previous year. During the same period, the number of approvals also rose by 7.3% to 6.07 billion transactions. The quarterly card approval amount growth rate this year has been close to 10%, with 8.7% in Q1, 9.9% in Q2, and 8.6% in Q3, showing a steady upward trend.

A representative from the Credit Finance Association explained, "Despite the resurgence of COVID-19 and strengthened social distancing measures, the overall consumer sentiment appears to be recovering continuously due to economic recovery expectations from expanded vaccination and the disbursement of the COVID-19 coexistence national support fund."

In the third quarter as well, the demand for purchases through non-face-to-face and online channels remained strong, and from September, the application and payment of the COVID-19 coexistence national support fund began, maintaining favorable approval performance. The personal card approval amount in Q3 this year was 204.4 trillion KRW, an 8.6% increase compared to the previous year. Corporate cards also recorded 43.7 trillion KRW, up 8.3% from last year.

By industry, wholesale and retail trade (12.2%), transportation (5.1%), and educational services (18.5%) showed growth. In wholesale and retail trade, card approval amounts increased due to the rise in non-face-to-face and online purchases and the recovery of sales at department stores and large marts. Transportation increased by 5.1% compared to the previous year due to a base effect from decreased use of transportation in Q3 last year. However, compared to Q3 2019, it decreased by 54.3%, indicating that it is premature to consider it a full recovery. The accommodation and food service industry decreased by 7% compared to the previous year due to restrained travel, movement, and gatherings, but with the upward trend in the restaurant industry business outlook index and considering food orders via delivery, the actual approval performance in the food service industry is expected to be better than this.

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