The value of credit card transactions by Taiwanese consumers when traveling abroad increased 31.3 percent year-on-year to NT$231.4 billion (US$7.07 billion) last year, a record high, the National Credit Card Center said yesterday.
Taiwanese credit card transactions in Japan last year were far ahead of other countries and regions, accounting for 41.57 percent of the top 10 destinations, followed by South Korea with 13.73 percent and the US with 10.07 percent, the center said in a report.
From fourth to 10th were France, the UK, Italy, Hong Kong, Macau, China and Thailand, the report said.
Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei Times
The number of Taiwanese traveling abroad has increased significantly during the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, which increases demand for cross-border payment services and boosts credit card transactions by Taiwanese abroad.
The center’s data showed transactions increased by about 2.1 times to NT$53 billion in 2022 from NT$17.07 billion in 2021, grew 2.32 times to NT$176.3 billion in 2023, and continued growth to reach the highest level last year.
The report also found that countries and regions in Asia accounted for 71.3 percent of total credit card transactions by Taiwanese consumers last year.
The center attributed the Asia-focused consumption to the effect of the strong US dollar, which incentivized people to travel to countries such as Japan and South Korea for sightseeing and shopping, as they proved better value for money.
A closer study of consumption in countries or regions revealed that Taiwanese tourists spent more in Japan’s department stores, retail outlets and clothing shops than any other destination — accounting for 53.55 percent of their total consumption there — driven by the depreciation of the yen and the convenience of tax refunds, the report said.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese tourists spent more on medical care, skincare and cosmetic services in South Korea than anywhere else, as was on their spending on the gaming and entertainment industry in Macau, with average payment per transaction of NT$17,759 last year, the highest among all consumption in the top 10 destinations, it said.
Overall, Taiwan’s total credit card transactions last year reached a record NT$4.69 trillion from NT$4.19 trillion the previous year, an 11.9 percent increase. Among them, cross-border transactions grew 30.9 percent year-on-year to NT$602.34 billion, the report said.
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