Credit Cards
According to a report released by the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute (KFTC) on May 11, the number of credit card uses by Koreans was 9.84 billion in 2012. A report on the statistical analysis of payment and settlement at home and abroad was made by compiling data for 18 major member countries of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) between 2003 and 2012.
The number of card uses grew 20.2 percent per year on average during the period, after 1.88 billion cases were recorded in 2003. In particular, the figure for credit card uses increased 16.3 percent on average, from 1.88 billion to 7.35 billion cases. As a result, the number of credit card uses per Korean was 147 as of 2012, which placed Korea in the number one position among 18 nations. Canada (89.8 cases) and the U.S. (83.5) followed suit.
Korea was in third place in the amount of credit card uses per person with US$8,625, after Australia (US$11,000) and Canada (US$10,000). The average amount for 18 countries is US$4,056.
The average amount of credit card uses per case was US$98.50 in 2012, but Korea posted only US$58.70. By country, Switzerland topped the list with US$152.20, followed by Australia (US$146.80), the Netherlands (US$128.90), and Belgium (US$120.70).