South Korea’s credit card firms saw their combined earnings fall in the first half, hit by a decline in credit card processing fees, data showed.

The combined net profit of eight card issuers, including Shinhan Card, Samsung Card and KB Kookmin Card, came to 940.5 billion won ($789 million) in the January-June period, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the Financial Supervisory Service.

Earlier this year, the government cut credit card processing fees to support self-employed business owners at a time when the nation’s economy is showing signs of weaker growth in the face of slowing exports and private consumption. (Yonhap)