SEOUL, November 25 (AJP) - South Koreans’ overseas card spending hit an all-time high in the third quarter, buoyed by a rebound in outbound travel and steady demand for direct overseas purchases, the Bank of Korea said on Tuesday.
Total spending abroad using credit and debit cards reached $5.93 billion between July and September, up 7.3 percent from the previous quarter’s $5.52 billion and surpassing the previous record of $5.71 billion set a year earlier.
The central bank attributed the increase largely to stronger travel demand during the summer peak season. The number of South Koreans traveling overseas rose 4.8 percent on-quarter, from 6.77 million to 7.09 million.
Credit card spending accounted for $4.09 billion, while debit card transactions totaled $1.84 billion, with both categories climbing more than 7 percent from the previous quarter.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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