Card spending recovers in Q2 due to travel recovery

The total amount of approved card transactions in the second quarter rose 4.1 percent, led by a recovery in travel and leisure activities.

A person holds on to a credit card and a cell phone. [SHUTTERSTOCK]

The total amount of approved card transactions in the second quarter rose 4.1 percent, led by a recovery in travel and leisure activities.

The approved card transactions amount for the April-June period was 292.1 trillion won ($230 billion) while the number of approvals rose 6.9 percent to 7.07 billion won in the same period, the Credit Finance Association of Korea said on Monday.

“Domestic demand and revenue of industries related to travel and leisure are continuing to rise,” the association said in a statement. The base effect of low credit card usage in 2021 also contributed to the increases.

Card spending approved for the transportation industry, including air travel, soared 33.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to 47.2 billion won. Growth was also evident in facility management, up 25.5 percent in the same period, followed by education services which rose 11 percent.

Facility management services include cleaning, pest control and security, while education includes kindergartens and universities.

The number of passengers traveling internationally in the second quarter soared 444.2 percent on year to 15.62 million. A gradual recovery of tourists from China also helped, with numbers jumping to 1,303 in June, up 3.6 percent from May and 9 percent from April, according to data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Revenue of car fuel decelerated due to a fall in oil prices, but improved car sales helped keep the spending afloat, the association added. Car fuel sales fell 16.5 percent in April and May from a year earlier, while sales of domestic automobiles jumped 13.5 percent in the same period.

Approved transaction amount for individual cards accelerated 5.1 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to 237.7 trillion won while the amount for corporate cards inched up 0.2 percent in the same period to 54.6 trillion won.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]