South Koreans' overseas plastic card spending hit a record high last year owing to strong demand for overseas travel and foreign products.
Using credit, debit and prepaid cards, domestic residents spent 21.72 billion U.S. dollars overseas in 2024, up 13.0 percent compared to the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It surpassed the previous high of 19.22 billion dollars tallied in 2023, continuing to expand for the fourth successive year after dropping in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
More local residents went abroad for travel, while direct purchase of foreign products in cyberspace grew in double digits last year. The number of outbound travelers totaled 28.69 million in 2024, up 26.3 percent from a year earlier. Direct overseas purchase through online shopping climbed 14.0 percent over the year to 5.83 billion dollars in 2024. Overseas spending per plastic card reduced 0.9 percent to 300 dollars last year. The number of plastic cards used overseas was 72.49 million in 2024, up 14.0 percent from a year earlier.