Overseas card spending comes to US$5.18 bln in Q2 amid rising direct purchases

South Koreans' overseas card spending remained unchanged in the second quarter from three months earlier as falling demand for overseas travel offset the growth in overseas direct purchases, data showed Tuesday. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to US$5.18 billion in the April-June period, unchanged from the amount logged in the first quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with a year earlier, however, overseas card spending jumped 11.6 percent from $4.65 billion. The number of outbound travelers fell 11.1 percent on-quarter to 6.59 million in the second quarter, while overseas direct purchases via credit cards advanced 6.2 percent to $1.47 billion, the data showed. Source: Yonhap News Agency