South Koreans’ credit card spending abroad reached a new high in the second quarter of this year.
  
According to Bank of Korea, South Koreans spent over four trillion won or three-point-47 billion U.S. dollars abroad using their credit cards between April and June this year.
 
The figure is up five-point-two percent from the previous quarter and four-point-five percent from a year earlier.
 
The central bank said that South Koreans’ credit card spending overseas jumped in the second quarter, despite a drop in the number of outbound tourists. The BOK analyzed that the growth is likely attributed to tourists’ preference for the convenient plastic money.
 
According to statistics from Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, the number of South Korean outbound tourists fell eight-point-eight percent to some five million in the second quarter, compared to the previous quarter.Credit card purchases by foreigners in South Korea increased nearly three percent year-on-year to two-point-86 billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter.