Bank of Korea Reports on "Overseas Card Usage by Residents in the First Quarter"
Outbound Travelers Increased,
But Overseas Direct Purchases via Online Shopping Decreased
The amount spent overseas using cards by residents, which reached an all-time high last year, saw a slight decrease in the first quarter of this year. This was due to a decline in overseas direct purchases through online shopping, even though the number of outbound travelers increased.
On the 20th, ahead of Black Friday, a large-scale discount event held annually on the fourth Friday of November in the United States, a customs officer is inspecting direct purchase items at the Express Logistics Center of Incheon Airport Headquarters Customs in Jung-gu, Incheon. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
According to the "Overseas Card Usage by Residents in the First Quarter" released by the Bank of Korea on May 23, the amount spent overseas using cards (credit + debit) by residents in the first quarter of this year was $5.65 billion, a decrease of 5.2% compared to the previous quarter ($5.64 billion). However, it was an increase of 3.1% compared to the same period last year ($5.19 billion).
Last year, the amount spent overseas by residents using cards reached a record high of $21.72 billion. The figures for the first and second quarters remained at $5.186 billion and $5.185 billion, respectively, but the third quarter set a new record at $5.708 billion, and the fourth quarter maintained a high level at $5.641 billion.
This year, demand for overseas travel has continued, resulting in an increase in the number of outbound travelers. However, due to seasonal factors, overseas direct purchases through online shopping have declined, leading to a slight slowdown in spending.
The number of outbound Korean travelers in the first quarter was 7,797,000, an increase from the previous quarter (7,490,000). In contrast, the amount spent on overseas direct purchases through online shopping was $1.35 billion, a decrease of 15.3% compared to the previous quarter ($1.59 billion).
An Jueun, head of the Capital Flow Analysis Team at the International Department, explained, "In general, overseas direct purchases through online shopping tend to increase in the fourth quarter due to discount events such as Black Friday. In the first quarter, however, overseas direct purchases decreased due to seasonal factors."
The number of cards used overseas also declined. In the first quarter, the number of cards used overseas by residents was 17,749,000, a decrease of 5.8% from the previous quarter (18,845,000). However, the amount spent per card increased slightly by 1.7% to $301.
By card type, the amount spent using credit cards in the first quarter was $3.645 billion, a decrease of 7.1% compared to the previous quarter ($3.924 billion). Debit card spending was $1.701 billion, a decrease of 0.9% over the same period. The share of spending was 68.2% for credit cards and 31.8% for debit cards.
The amount spent by foreigners using cards in Korea in the first quarter was $2.745 billion, about half the amount spent by residents overseas.
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