Despite Economic Recession... Last Year, 857 Trillion Won Spent Using Cards (Comprehensive)

Average Approval Amount 39,392 Won

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Despite last year's economic downturn, the overall card usage volume, including credit and check cards, increased. While personal card payment amounts surpassed 700 trillion won for the first time, corporate cards recorded a decline.

According to the '2019 Q4 Card Approval Performance Analysis' released by the Credit Finance Association on the 11th, the total card approval amount last year was 856.6 trillion won, up 5.7% from the previous year. The number of approvals also increased by 9.7% year-on-year to 21.75 billion transactions.

The personal card approval amount grew 7.1% year-on-year to 706.7 trillion won. During the same period, the number of approvals also rose 9.8% to 20.43 billion transactions. However, the corporate card approval amount decreased. Although the number of corporate card approvals increased by 100 million transactions to 1.31 billion, the approval amount fell 0.6% year-on-year to 150.6 trillion won.

Credit card approval amounts and transactions were 666.8 trillion won and 13.19 billion transactions, respectively, marking increases of 5.5% and 10.3% year-on-year. Check cards recorded 189.1 trillion won and 8.53 billion transactions, up 6.5% and 8.7% from the previous year.

As the number of transactions increased more than the approval amount, the average approval amount decreased by 3.7%, from 40,886 won in 2018 to 39,392 won last year. In particular, the average approval amount for corporate cards dropped significantly by 8.2% year-on-year to 114,665 won. The average approval amounts for credit and check cards were 50,564 won and 22,160 won, respectively, down 4.4% and 2.0% compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter of last year, the total card approval amount was 225.1 trillion won, and the number of approvals was 5.66 billion transactions, up 7.3% and 10.1% year-on-year, respectively.

Regarding this, the Credit Finance Research Institute analyzed that the continued increase in card payments for online purchases, growth in automobile sales, and rising demand in sports-related service sectors contributed to the increase in card usage. Notably, card payments in sports, arts, and leisure-related service industries increased by 12.1% compared to the previous year. The Credit Finance Research Institute explained, "This result is interpreted as being due to increased outdoor activities caused by warmer weather compared to 2018."