Spending slips 0.1% from Q4 last year; non-residents' domestic card use drops 5.4%

Travelers crowd the duty-free zone at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport on Feb. 13, the day before the Lunar New Year holiday, as people head abroad for the break. [Herald DB]
Travelers crowd the duty-free zone at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport on Feb. 13, the day before the Lunar New Year holiday, as people head abroad for the break. [Herald DB]

By Kim Byeo-ri, The Herald Business

Overseas card spending by South Korean residents edged down in the first quarter, even as the number of departing travelers rose, as a decline in cross-border online shopping weighed on the total.

According to data the Bank of Korea released Friday, residents' combined credit and debit card spending abroad reached $6.104 billion (about 9.38 trillion won) in the first quarter — down 0.1% from $6.11 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. Compared with the same period a year earlier, when spending stood at $5.35 billion, the figure was up 14.2%.

"The number of Korean nationals departing the country increased in the first quarter, but overseas direct purchases through online shopping declined, keeping the total roughly in line with the previous quarter," the Bank of Korea said.

The number of Korean nationals who traveled abroad in the quarter rose 5.5% to about 8.331 million, up from 7.893 million in the fourth quarter of last year. Over the same period, cross-border online shopping fell 13.1% to $1.35 billion, from $1.55 billion the previous quarter.

By card type, credit card spending fell 1.3% to $4.1 billion, while debit card spending rose 2.4% to $2.003 billion.

Non-residents' card spending in South Korea came to $3.57 billion in the first quarter, down 5.4% from $3.78 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. Year on year, however, the figure was up 30.2% from $2.74 billion.

The Bank of Korea attributed the decline to fewer inbound visitors compared with the prior quarter, which pushed the number of card transactions by non-residents down from 19.518 million in the fourth quarter of last year to 18.627 million in the first quarter of this year.


kimstar@heraldcorp.com