Average card spending down 2.2% in Feb. as Koreans tighten purse strings

[Photo by Kim Ho-young]

Overall card usage by South Koreans fell 2.2 percent on year in February amid the sluggish economy.

According to data released by the Credit Finance Association on Tuesday, the average amount of authorized transactions for credit, debit, and direct payment cards reached 43,857 won ($33.5) in February, down 2.2 percent from the same month a year ago.

The average amount approved for credit cards came to 55,267 won in February, down 3.1 percent from a year ago, and for debit cards 24,654 won, down 0.4 percent.

Purchases made with personal cards fell by 0.8 percent to 38,553 won in February and those with corporate cards 9.5 percent to 128,106 won.

The number of entire card approvals in February, in the meantime, reached 20 billion, up 15.8 percent from a year ago. The authorized amount reached 87.5 trillion won, up 13.3 percent.

By category, card spending on transportation soared 129.2 percent to 1.4 trillion won in February and on accommodation and restaurant 48.7 percent to 11.6 trillion won.

The figures suggest that the volume of overall card transactions grew as card usage increased following the lift in social distancing rules but individual spending fell due to a number of unfavorable factors such as high interest rates, experts said.

“The number of people using cards has increased but the personal spending capacity has decreased due to a drop in income,” said an unnamed official from a card company.