Overseas card spending drops the most in two decades

Overseas card spending dropped by the most in more than two decades in the second quarter on a sharp decline in the number of outbound travelers amid the Covid-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday.

The amount of money spent overseas by Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, totaled $1.87 billion in the April-June period, down 60.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.

It marked the sharpest on-year decline since the third quarter of 1998 when the amount plunged 63.7 percent on year in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Compared with three months earlier, the overseas card spending fell 48.7 percent, sharper than a 25.3 percent on-quarter decline in the first quarter.

It also marked the sharpest on-quarter fall since the first quarter of 1998, when the card spending declined 52.5 percent from three months earlier.

"The fall was mainly attributable to a sharp decline in the number of outbound travelers amid the prolonged virus outbreak," the bank said.

The number of outbound Koreans tumbled 96.8 percent on quarter to 120,000 in the second quarter amid border restrictions and reduced flights amid the pandemic.

Yonhap