Wide Open Skies... 'Card Tech' to Save Payment Fees in the 'King Dollar Era'

Monthly Overseas Tourists: 110,000 in Feb Last Year → 670,000 in July This Year
Various Benefits Including Card Fee Waivers and Partial Cashback on Payments

On the morning of the 14th, passengers are waiting to check in for the Gimpo-Haneda flight at the international counter of Gimpo International Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Recently, as COVID-19 related restrictions have eased both domestically and internationally, interest in overseas travel is growing.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization on the 24th, demand for overseas travel continues to increase. While the number of overseas tourists was only 112,722 in February, it has rapidly risen to △145,503 in March △215,246 in April △315,945 in May △412,798 in June △674,022 in July.

However, due to the strong dollar era, the burden of fees incurred when using cards abroad is considerable. As a result, cards specialized for overseas payments are attracting attention. The 'KB Kookmin Overseas Check Card' refunds up to 300,000 KRW for overseas usage fees and per-transaction ATM fees. Hana Card's 'Viva X Platinum Check Card' waives the Mastercard brand fee (1%) and per-transaction fee (0.5 USD) charged on overseas payments. Additionally, Toss Bank Card charges fees for overseas payments but provides 3% cashback on the payment amount.

The foreign currency prepaid card 'Travel Wallet' is also popular. By pre-exchanging the required foreign currency through an application (app), the amount spent locally is deducted from the prepaid balance each time a payment is made. While it has the advantage of no overseas payment fees, as a prepaid card, there is a risk of leftover local currency or insufficient funds during the trip.

When paying in Korean won instead of local currency abroad, you may face a 'fee bomb,' so it is necessary to check receipts and other documents. International brand card companies such as Visa and Mastercard, which connect overseas payments, process payment acquisitions in dollars. Therefore, even if a credit card is used in a country other than the U.S. to pay in local currency instead of dollars, the customer is always charged after conversion to dollars. Consequently, an additional 3-8% Korean won payment service fee is incurred when paying in won.

Therefore, after overseas shopping, if the amount is shown in Korean won on the receipt, it is advisable to cancel and request payment again in local currency. Signing up for the Korean won payment (DCC) blocking service through the card company before traveling can prevent unnecessary fees.

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