S. Koreans’ overseas plastic card spending unchanged in Q2

SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) — South Koreans’ overseas plastic card spending stood unchanged in the second quarter. Lower overseas travel demand was offset by higher direct overseas purchases through online shopping, central bank data showed Tuesday.
Using credit, check and debit cards, local residents spent 5.18 billion U.S. dollars overseas in the April-June quarter, unchanged compared to the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea.
The number of domestic residents traveling abroad was 6,598,000 in the second quarter, down 11.1 percent from the previous three-month period.
Online direct purchases of foreign products gained 6.2 percent to 1.47 billion dollars in the second quarter compared to the prior quarter.
Overseas spending per plastic card shrank 0.2 percent in the cited quarter, continuing to slide for the third straight quarter.
The number of plastic cards used overseas was 17,537,000 in the second quarter, up 0.2 percent from the previous quarter. ■