First Quarter Card Approvals Up 7.2% Year-on-Year... Boosted by Strong Corporate Performance and Base Effect

Credit Finance Association Releases Card Approval Performance Analysis

Driven by increased semiconductor demand, improved corporate performance, and base effect, the total amount approved for card transactions in the first quarter rose by 7.2% year-on-year.

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According to the "Analysis of Card Approval Performance for the First Quarter of 2026" released by the Credit Finance Association on April 30, the total amount approved for card transactions in the first quarter reached 322.1 trillion won, marking a 7.2% increase compared to the same period last year. The number of approvals also rose by 5.1% to 7.2 billion transactions.

The amount approved for personal cards came to 264.4 trillion won, up 6.8% year-on-year, while the number of approvals increased by 5.3%.

Corporate card approvals totaled 57.8 trillion won, an increase of 8.7%, and the number of approvals rose by 1.9%.

By card type, credit card approvals stood at 253.2 trillion won, up 7.1%, while check cards increased by 6.2% to 65 trillion won.

Card approval performance improved across all industries. Approvals in business facility management and business support services rose by 16.4% compared to the same period last year; transportation services increased by 12.5%; healthcare and social welfare services by 8.2%; and wholesale and retail trade by 5.4%. Education services (4.7%) and accommodation and food services (3.2%) also showed increases.

An association official commented, "Although there are concerns that the Middle East conflict could dampen consumer sentiment, improvements in corporate performance due to growing global semiconductor demand, as well as better income and asset conditions and the base effect compared to the first quarter of last year, have led to a relatively high growth rate in card approval performance."

The official added, "It is also analyzed that the rise in consumer prices and oil prices observed last month partially contributed to the increase in card approvals."

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