Last year, the overseas card spending of domestic residents exceeded 31 trillion won, marking an all-time high. This is attributed to an increase in overseas travel and online shopping through direct purchases.
According to the '2024 card overseas spending performance of residents' report released by the Bank of Korea on the 26th, the total overseas card (credit and debit) spending of domestic residents last year was recorded at $21.721 billion (approximately 31.12 trillion won). This figure represents a 13% increase compared to the previous high in 2023 ($19.222 billion or 27.5 trillion won).
The Bank of Korea noted that this is the result of an increase in the number of outbound travelers due to growing demand for overseas travel and a rise in online shopping through direct purchases.
According to the Bank of Korea, the number of outbound travelers last year increased by 26.3% from 22.72 million in 2023 to 28.69 million last year. During the same period, direct purchase amounts from online shopping rose from $5.11 billion to $5.83 billion, a 14.0% increase.
By type of card, spending on credit cards increased by 5.4% to $15.487 billion, while spending on debit cards rose by 37.8% to $6.234 billion.