Overseas Travel and Direct Purchases Surge... Card Spending Abroad Up 25.6% in One Year

Bank of Korea Q3 'Resident Card Overseas Usage Performance'
Approaching 6.3 Trillion Won as Overseas Travel Increases
Up 3.1% QoQ, 25.6% YoY

On September 27, the duty-free area of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport was bustling with travelers. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

With the increase in overseas travel leading to a significant rise in the number of departures, overseas direct purchases (direct imports) have also steadily continued, resulting in a sharp increase in overseas card spending in the third quarter of this year.

According to the "Card Overseas Usage Performance of Residents" released by the Bank of Korea on the 29th, the amount of overseas card (credit, check, debit) usage by domestic residents in the third quarter was $4.79 billion, a 3.1% increase compared to $4.65 billion in the second quarter.

When calculated in Korean won, based on the average closing exchange rate of 1,311.68 won per dollar in the third quarter, this amounts to approximately 6.2829 trillion won.

This is a 25.6% increase compared to the same period last year ($3.81 billion).

The Bank of Korea explained, "Card spending increased due to a steady continuation of overseas direct purchases through online shopping and a significant rise in the number of domestic departures driven by increased demand for overseas travel compared to the previous quarter."

Overseas direct purchase amounts through online shopping have been on the rise, with $1.2 billion in the first quarter, $1.24 billion in the second quarter, and $1.24 billion in the third quarter this year. Considering that the quarterly average last year was about $1.03 billion, the increase is substantial.

Additionally, the number of domestic departures surged by 26.5%, from 4.952 million in the second quarter to 6.264 million in the third quarter.

The number of cards used overseas by residents in the third quarter was 15.851 million, up 2.2% from the previous quarter and 21.3% compared to the same period last year. The amount spent per card was $302, increasing by 0.9% and 3.6% respectively over the same periods.

By card type, spending on credit cards (+2.6%) and check cards (+5.2%) increased, while spending on debit cards (-29.9%) significantly decreased.

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