Seoul: South Koreans' overseas card spending rose more than 3 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, driven by a rise in overseas direct purchases, particularly from Chinese e-commerce platforms, central bank data showed. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with credit and debit cards stood at US$5.52 billion in the April-June period, up 3.3 percent from the previous quarter's $5.35 billion, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
According to Yonhap News Agency, compared with a year earlier, the amount went up 6.5 percent. A BOK official noted that despite a decline in demand for overseas travel, overseas card spending rose as direct purchases from Chinese online shopping malls grew markedly. The number of outbound travelers sank 13.2 percent on-quarter to 6.77 million in the second quarter.
Direct purchases from Chinese online shopping platforms, such as AliExpress and Temu, surged 24.3 percent from the previous quarter, reaching $1.04 billion, according to the data by Statistics Korea. Meanwhile, non-residents' card spending within South Korea hit an all-time high of $3.78 billion in the second quarter, marking a 38.2 percent increase from the previous quarter.
The previous record was $3.38 billion, set in the fourth quarter of 2024. In line with their rising card spending, the ratio of non-residents' domestic card use to residents' overseas card use advanced to 69 percent, the highest level since 2016, the BOK said.