SEOUL– Major card firm Hyundai Card Corp. said Friday its credit card users’ payments soared in April amid eased anti-virus restrictions.
Hyundai Card said users spent a total of 8.69 trillion won (US$6.92 billion) for travel, flight, hotel and other reopening-related expenses last month, up 15 percent from a year ago.
Payment for flights surged 226 percent on-year to 59.9 billion won, with that of hospitality for domestic travel increasing 196 percent from a year ago, the card firm’s data showed.
During the same month, Hyundai credit card’s payments swelled 102 percent in leisure and sports, added 25 percent in public transportation and 28 percent in offline shopping in department stores.
Hyundai Card attributed the jump in credit card payment, particularly in travel and leisure, to the country’s eased virus curbs.
South Korea’s daily caseload took a downturn after peaking at over 621,000 on March 17, amid the spread of omicron variant.
Last month, the country rolled back most of its virus restrictions amid slowing infections, except for the seven-day self-isolation for COVID-19 patients, which remains in effect until June 20.
Source: Yonhap News Agency