Foreign card spending at domestic merchants has grown nearly tenfold in three years, with more than half of all service-sector foreign card sales concentrated in cosmetic medical services such as dermatology and plastic surgery clinics. Analysts say global interest in K-beauty is translating directly into consumer spending on aesthetic treatments.
According to Korea Credit Data's (KCD) foreign card sales trend research note released Tuesday, foreign card sales at merchants nationwide connected to KCD's CashNote service in June this year were 9.6 times the level of January 2023. The share of foreign card sales in total card sales rose 1.0 percentage point — from 0.2 percent to 1.2 percent, a sixfold increase — over the same period, reflecting a meaningful expansion of foreign consumer spending within domestic retail.
By region, Seoul accounted for 65 percent of nationwide foreign card sales over the most recent 12-month period from July 2025 to June 2026, followed by Gyeonggi Province at 11 percent, Busan at 8 percent and Jeju at 5 percent. Seoul's foreign card sales grew 36.4 percent compared with the preceding 12-month period.
Within Seoul, the foreign card penetration rate — the share of foreign card transactions in total sales for each sector — varied sharply by industry. The service sector posted the highest rate at 5.53 percent, followed by retail at 2.67 percent and dining at 2.08 percent. By contrast, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon and Daegu all came in below 0.5 percent across all sectors, highlighting a wide regional gap.
Nationwide, foreign card sales within the service sector were concentrated heavily in cosmetic medicine — dermatology clinics accounted for 40 percent and plastic surgery clinics for 14 percent, together making up more than half the total. Other hospitals and clinics followed at 9 percent, with beauty salons and pharmacies each at 6 percent, underscoring strong foreign demand for beauty, medical and health-related services.
A wide gap also emerged in average transaction values. The average foreign card transaction in the service sector was 166,000 won ($117), roughly 3.5 times the 47,000 won average for Korean customers. In the health and medical segment — which recorded the largest volume of foreign card sales within the service sector — the gap widened to about eight times. The disparity was far smaller in retail, at 1.7 times, and dining, at 1.2 times.
Foreign spending was also heavily concentrated among a small number of merchants. The top 1 percent of stores by foreign card sales accounted for 66.9 percent of total foreign card revenue, while the top 10 percent captured 90 percent, leaving the bottom 90 percent of merchants with just a 10 percent share. The data suggest that the benefits of rising inbound consumer spending are flowing disproportionately to a handful of businesses. Within Seoul, the average monthly foreign card sales per business in tourist zones reached 3.48 million won, with a 13.9 percent share, while businesses in neighborhood commercial districts averaged 299,000 won (1.4 percent) and traditional markets averaged 540,000 won (2.5 percent).
Among franchise brands, Hapa Kristin, a color contact lens retailer, posted the highest foreign card sales share at 34 percent. Egg Drop, a toast sandwich chain, Solsot, a hansik restaurant brand, and Juno Hair, a beauty salon franchise, were also cited among brands with high foreign card sales ratios. Large convenience store chains and other major franchise operators recorded high overall sales volumes but relatively low shares of foreign card transactions.
Meanwhile, Busan posted the highest year-on-year foreign card sales growth rate among all regions at 60.0 percent, followed by Jeju at 53.1 percent. Unlike Seoul, both Busan and Jeju showed consumer spending patterns dominated by dining and retail rather than services.
The analysis covered approximately 328,000 merchants nationwide that use KCD's CashNote business management service and had at least one recorded foreign card transaction.
won@heraldcorp.com
