S. Koreans' overseas card spending hits new record high in Q3

South Koreans' overseas credit card spending rose to a fresh 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 US$2.71 billion in 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, making spending on overseas travel increase.

In the cited period, the number of outbound travelers jumped 14.7 percent on-quarter 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. (Yonhap News)