Card Approvals Up 4.9% Year-on-Year in Q4... Recovery in Consumer Sentiment

Credit Finance Association's Analysis of Card Approval Performance
"Improved Consumer Sentiment Driven by Strong Corporate Performance and Rising Stock Prices"

Due to the recovery in consumer sentiment, the total card approval amount in the fourth quarter of last year increased by 4.9% compared to the previous year.

According to the “Analysis of Card Approval Performance for the Fourth Quarter of 2025” released by the Credit Finance Association on January 30, the total card approval amount for the fourth quarter of last year was 325 trillion won, up 4.9% from the same period a year earlier. The number of approvals also rose by 3.9% to 7.58 billion transactions.

The total card approval amount for the entire year of last year was 1,266.1 trillion won, a 4.7% increase from the previous year.

The approval amount for personal cards reached 266.6 trillion won, up 5.3% year-on-year, while the number of approvals also increased by 4.2%. In contrast, the approval amount for corporate cards rose by 3.3% to 58.6 trillion won, but the number of approvals decreased by 2.7%, mainly due to a reduction in business days.

By card type, credit card approvals amounted to 252.7 trillion won, a 3.9% increase, while debit card approvals grew by 5.4% to 67.6 trillion won.

Card approval performance also improved overall in consumer-related sectors such as accommodation and food services, and wholesale and retail. Card approvals in the accommodation and food services sector increased by 2.0% year-on-year, while wholesale and retail grew by 3.7%. In particular, due to increased hospital visits, the approval amount for health and social welfare services recorded a relatively high growth rate of 7.8%.

The association explained, “Card approval performance continued to grow as consumer sentiment improved, supported by strong corporate earnings and rising stock prices,” adding, “For personal cards, the growth rate was especially high in the first half of the year due to policy effects such as consumption coupons.”

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