South Koreans' overseas card spending soars in 2018
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Overseas card spending by South Koreans posted double-digit growth for the second straight year in 2018 due to a larger number of outbound travelers and weaker U.S. dollar, central bank data showed Thursday.
South Korean people spent $19.22 billion with plastic abroad last year, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Overseas card spending includes purchases made with debit and direct payment cards, in addition to credit cards.
The figure has been on a constant rise over the past several years from $10.55 billion in 2013 to $12.20 billion in 2014 and to $13.26 billion in 2015. In 2017, overseas card spending stood at $17.14 billion, up 19.9 percent on-year, the data showed.
The growth came as more people went on overseas trips last year, according to the central bank. The number of South Korean departures stood at 287 million in 2018, up 8.3 percent from a year before.
The strengthening of the Korean won also appeared to encourage people to spend more overseas. The local currency traded at an average of 1,100.3 won against the U.S. greenback in 2018, compared with 1,130.8 won in the previous year.
Last year's overseas card spending grew far faster than that at home. According to the country's Credit Finance Association, South Koreans' domestic card spending amounted to 810.7 trillion won (US$719.98 billion) in 2018, up 6.6 percent from the previous year.
Meanwhile, card spending by foreign visitors in South Korea rose 9.0 percent on-year to $92.89 billion in 2018, the data showed. (Yonhap)