Credit card use in Korea

[img_assist|nid=7760|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]According to the report of the Bank of Korea (BOK) in the first quarter of the year credit card use by Koreans traveling overseas, which includes debit cards, reached $1.83 billion which is 30.2% increase in comparison with the previous year. It is the largest amount in the history of the bank since it began registering these records in 1976.

``The sharp rise was mainly attributable to an increase in the number of Koreans traveling abroad between January and March during the Lunar New Year holidays,'' says Jung Sun-young, BOK senior economist.

``A rise in overseas travel expenses coupled with popularization of credit card-based settlements is another key factor,'' she adds. ``Koreans are tending to lavish more money abroad than before.''

In the first quarter overseas card spending amounted $766 per capita, the same index last year made up $712 and in the preceding quarter it was $730. along with another report on household income these data prompts that Korean economy becomes more consumption driven.

The spending amounts of nearly 32% of all Korean families and 56% of low-income families are more than their incomes. 2.38 million Koreans used credit card abroad. The figure is a 21% rise from the preceding year and 3.3% increase form the previous quarter.

On the other hand credit card spending of foreign citizens in Korea in the first quarter made up $510 million, a 1.6 percent rise from a year earlier and a 19% decrease from the previous quarter. There were 1.04 million foreign residents who used credit cards which is a 16.3 drop from the preceding year. Card use accounted for $491 per capita, a 21.3% decrease.