Last Year Overseas Card Spending Up 18.6%... "Impact of Increased Direct Purchases"

October 18 last year, Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 Departure Hall / Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

Although the number of overseas departures significantly decreased last year due to the spread of COVID-19, overseas direct purchases increased, resulting in a rise in overseas card usage.

According to the "2021 Overseas Card Usage by Residents" report released by the Bank of Korea on the 1st, the overseas card usage amount (credit cards, check cards, and debit cards) by residents last year was $12.227 billion, an 18.6% increase compared to $10.31 billion in 2020.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of domestic travelers abroad sharply declined from 28.71 million in 2019 to 4.28 million in 2020, and further down to 1.22 million last year. However, overseas card usage expanded due to increased overseas direct purchases via online shopping, driven by the decline in the KRW-USD exchange rate.

According to the Bank of Korea, the average daily KRW-USD exchange rate last year was 1,144.4 won, a 3.0% decrease from 1,180.1 won in 2020. The overseas direct purchase amount through online shopping increased by 29.7%, from $3.46 billion in 2020 to $4.49 billion last year.

Overseas card usage recorded $19.22 billion in 2018, then slightly decreased to $19.123 billion in 2019 and sharply dropped to $10.31 billion in 2020, before rebounding last year.

By card type, usage amounts increased across the board: credit cards by 14.4%, check cards by 29.1%, and debit cards by 8.4%.

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