Overseas card spending up in Q3 on increased travel, direct purchases

overseas card spending-Q3 tally

Overseas card spending up in Q3 on increased travel, direct purchases

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans' overseas card spending increased 3.1 percent in the third quarter of the year on the back of increased overseas travel and increased direct purchases, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to US$4.79 billion in the July-September period, compared with $4.65 billion three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

From a year earlier, their overseas spending jumped 25.6 percent.

The BOK said the overseas card spending grew as more people went abroad on the back of eased coronavirus restrictions and Koreans' overseas purchases increased.

The number of outbound travelers stood at 6.26 million in the third quarter, sharply up from 4.95 million the previous quarter, industry data showed.

Overseas direct purchases via credit cards stood at $1.24 billion during the third quarter, according to the data.

South Koreans' overseas card spending swelled almost 19 percent last year on the back of eased virus curbs to $14.54 billion, a sharp rise from $12.23 billion the previous year.

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