SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's overseas plastic card spending hit a new record high in the third quarter due to the higher number of locals traveling abroad, central bank data showed Tuesday.
Using credit and check cards, local residents spent 5.71 billion U.S. dollars overseas in the July-September quarter, up 10.1 percent compared to the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea.
It surpassed the previous high of 5.19 billion dollars tallied in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The number of domestic residents going overseas for travel was 7,173,000 in the third quarter, up 8.7 percent from three months earlier.
Online direct purchases of foreign products reduced 4.4 percent to 1.41 billion dollars in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter.
Overseas spending per plastic card grew 4.1 percent in the cited quarter, rebounding in four quarters.
The number of plastic cards used overseas was 18,545,000 in the third quarter, up 5.8 percent from the prior quarter. ■
