Last Year Overseas Card Spending Up 18.9%... "Impact of Eased COVID-19 Entry Restrictions"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Last year, as countries around the world lifted COVID-19 related entry restrictions, overseas card usage continued to increase.

According to the "2022 Overseas Card Usage by Residents" report released by the Bank of Korea on the 28th, the overseas card spending (credit cards, check cards, and debit cards) by residents last year amounted to $14.54 billion, an 18.9% increase compared to $12.23 billion in 2021.

This increase was influenced by the easing of COVID-19 related entry restrictions worldwide and the resumption of visa-free entry to Japan in October last year, which significantly boosted the number of outbound Korean travelers.

The number of outbound Korean travelers, which reached 28.71 million in 2019, sharply declined to 4.28 million in 2020 and 1.22 million in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but showed a gradual recovery to 6.55 million last year.

However, overseas direct purchases through online shopping decreased by 7.4%, from $4.47 billion in 2021 to $4.14 billion last year.

Overseas card usage recorded $19.22 billion in 2018, slightly decreased to $19.123 billion in 2019, dropped to $10.31 billion in 2020, rebounded to $12.227 billion in 2021, and continued to increase last year.

By card type, credit card usage increased significantly by 32.6%, while check card usage decreased by 8.6% and debit card usage fell by 45.5%.

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