3rd Quarter Card Approval Amount Increases by 5%... Gift Certificate Purchases Plummet Due to Timeff Shock

3rd Quarter Card Approval Performance Analysis
Increase in Travel Expenses... Sharp Decline in eCoupons After Timf

With increased travel expenses, card usage in the third quarter of this year rose by 5% compared to last year. However, mobile gift certificate spending dropped by about half due to the impact of the Tmon and Wemakeprice incidents.

According to the "2024 Third Quarter Card Approval Performance Analysis" released by the Korea Credit Finance Association on the 28th, the total card approval amount in the third quarter of this year was 307 trillion won, a 5% increase compared to the same period last year. During the same period, the number of card approval transactions was 7.42 billion, up 3.5% from the previous year.

The improvement in card usage performance is attributed to increased demand in travel and leisure-related sectors due to the revitalization of tourism. As the use of transportation means such as airlines and railroads increased, the transportation industry’s card approval performance rose by 3.4% compared to the same period last year. Among arts, sports, and leisure-related service industries, performance at various sports stadiums was also found to have improved.

However, the growth rate of non-face-to-face and online-related sales appeared to have relatively eased. In particular, the transaction amount for e-coupon services decreased by 40.2%, from 1.579 trillion won in July-August last year to 944 billion won in July-August this year. E-coupon services refer to mobile vouchers and gift certificates purchased online and used offline. Jang Myung-hyun, a senior researcher at the Korea Credit Finance Association, explained, "The Tmon and Wemakeprice incidents and the resulting reduction in gift certificate purchases are believed to have partially influenced the slowdown in the growth of online transaction amounts."

The average approval amount for personal cards in the third quarter of this year was 35,740 won, a 0.9% increase compared to the previous quarter. During the same period, the average approval amount for corporate cards was 138,993 won, up 3%.