Koreans’ overseas card spending hits record high

Koreans’ overseas credit card spending rose to a record high in the third quarter as the number of outbound travelers increased amid the local currency’s ascent, the central bank said Friday.

Overseas credit card bills totaled $2.71 billion during the July-September period, up 7.3 percent from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The BOK said that the number of outbound travelers sharply rose last quarter, leading to an increase in overseas travel spending.

In the cited period, the number of outbound travelers jumped 14.7 percent to 4.02 million, and the local currency gained 6.9 percent to the greenback compared with three months earlier.

The number of credit card users rose 7.8 percent on-quarter to 6.24 million, while local residents spent an average of $434 via credit cards overseas, down 0.5 percent from three months earlier.

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