Overseas card spending jumps 80 pct in Q2 as lockdown eases

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans' overseas card spending jumped 80 percent on-year in the second quarter as many nations eased lockdown rules following the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Monday.

The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, totaled US$3.37 billion in the April-June period, compared with $1.87 billion for the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Compared with three months earlier, overseas card spending also rose 31.7 percent.

The on-quarter rise came as countries around the world eased lockdown measures amid the gaining pace of vaccination campaigns, the BOK said.

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