Credit card spending by foreign residents in Korea jumps 65% in 4 years, hitting W56tr

Foreign residents are emerging as a significant force in South Korea’s consumer economy, contributing an estimated 56.3 trillion won ($39.3 billion) in domestic credit card spending in 2023, according to a December 2024 report by the state-run Migration Research and Training Center (MRTC).

The figure, which marks a 65 percent increase from 34.1 trillion won in 2019, is based on credit card usage data provided by Shinhan Card, South Korea’s leading issuer. The report used Shinhan Card’s data to estimate total market-wide spending by foreign residents, adjusting for Shinhan’s market share (approximately 20 percent over the analysis period) and month-to-month fluctuations using credit industry data from the Credit Finance Association.

As of 2024, foreign nationals account for roughly 5 percent of South Korea’s population, or about 2.65 million people, up nearly 700,000 from just three years earlier, according to the Ministry of Justice.

According to the report, the average foreign cardholder using a Shinhan Card spent 5.15 million won in 2023 — a noticeable increase from 4.6 million won in 2021. However, this still trails the 7.05 million won spent on average by Korean Shinhan Card users in the same year. These per-capita figures are limited to Shinhan Card customers and do not account for foreign users of other issuers.

One of the most notable shifts is in how foreign residents are spending. The share of card purchases made via e-commerce more than doubled in just four years — from 9.7 percent in 2019 to 19.3 percent in 2023. Though traditional offline retail still leads (27.3 percent), this rapid growth in digital transactions reflects broader post-pandemic changes in consumer behavior — and a growing reliance on online platforms among foreigners navigating daily life in Korea, the report explained.

This consumption surge is being driven by a demographic transformation. As of 2024, there were 2.65 million foreign residents in South Korea, up 690,000 from three years earlier, according to the Ministry of Justice. Many are no longer short-term workers; today’s foreign population increasingly includes long-term residents — such as international students, permanent residents and marriage migrants. Between 2010 and 2023, the share of foreigners on low-skilled labor visas fell from 54.4 percent to 29.7 percent, while more stable visa categories such as marriage migrants (10.3 percent) and education-related residents (16.6 percent) have steadily expanded.

Korean businesses are taking notice. Major banks like Shinhan and Hana have moved beyond remittance services to offer tailored savings products, loans, and even Korean language education, lifestyle content and community platforms. “From currency exchange to home loans, this is one of the few areas where firms can generate immediate revenue by serving foreign residents,” a Shinhan Bank official said in the report.

Still, retaining these customers long-term isn’t guaranteed. The MRTC report points out that many foreigners face persistent hurdles in everyday services. “This isn’t just about more foreigners living in Korea. It’s about a shift in the economy itself. For Korean businesses, foreign residents aren’t just a market segment — they should be considered a structural part of the country's future,” an MRTC researcher said in the report.