Dormant credit cards fall to lowest level

The number of dormant credit cards in South Korea dropped below the 10 million mark last month, marking the first time it has done so since 2005 when the Credit Finance Association began tracking the data.

About 9.7 million credit cards issued by 20 banks and card companies had remained idle for more than a year. The figure was down more than half from the 23.5 million a year earlier, according to the CFA on Tuesday.

CFA officials explained that the decline is due in part to the government’s home-loan restriction policy in 2012, which forced local banks and card firms to clean up dormant accounts.

The personal data theft of millions of bank users earlier this year also played a significant role in causing people to cancel credit cards and close their accounts, industry watchers said.

(monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)