South Koreans' overseas card spending plunged 54.8 percent on-year in the third quarter on a sharp decline in the number of outbound travelers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, totaled $2.17 billion in the July-September period, compared with $4.79 billion for the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Compared with three months earlier, however, the overseas card spending rose 15.6 percent.

The on-quarter gain was attributable to a modest rise in the number of outbound travelers and the Korean currency's strength against the US dollar, the BOK said.

The number of outbound South Koreans jumped 97 percent on-quarter to 230,000 in the third quarter as many nations lifted lockdown measures.

In the fourth quarter of last year, the number of outbound South Koreans stood at 6.59 million, according to the BOK. (Yonhap)