South Korea’s Q2 Corporate Credit Card Spending Surpasses 60 Trillion Won on Semiconductor Boom

Semiconductor Boom Drives Record Corporate Card Spending

South Korean businesses opened their wallets wider in the second quarter of 2024, pushing corporate credit card spending to unprecedented heights. The 61.78 trillion won total for April through June represented a 10.6% jump from a year earlier, easily outpacing the 6.2% growth rate recorded for personal credit cards over the same period, according to central bank figures.

The milestone comes two years after corporate card usage first crossed the 50-trillion-won threshold in the second quarter of 2022. The sharp rise in spending stems directly from strong performances among memory chip manufacturers and their supply chains. As global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure expanded, firms in the semiconductor sector increased their operational outlays for business travel, client meetings, and employee welfare.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, alongside numerous smaller materials, parts, and equipment suppliers, saw profitability climb sharply. Corporate profitability indicators released by the Bank of Korea highlight this expansion. Total gross operating surplus—measuring value-added profits minus wages—reached 433 trillion won in the second quarter, up roughly 48% from 291 trillion won in the same period last year. This marked the highest level since the central bank began compiling the statistic in 2010.

Card Issuance and Transaction Size Trends

Corporate credit card issuance also hit a record high, with the total number of cards reaching 11.75 million in the second quarter. However, the volume of new cards and the frequency of transactions grew at a much slower pace than total spending.

While spending rose by 10.6%, the total number of issued cards and total transaction counts increased by just 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively. This divergence indicates that businesses spent significantly more per transaction rather than swiping cards more often. Average spending per corporate card transaction rose 9.0% from 164,540 won in the second quarter of last year to 179,320 won in the second quarter of 2024.

Samsung Card noted in a recent investor relations prospectus that global semiconductor demand drove corporate earnings upward, which in turn improved income and asset conditions to boost card performance. A business community official added that supply chain companies benefiting from the chip boom actively expanded their sales and management expenses through increased business trips and client gatherings.

Corporate Profits and Consumer Spending Disparity

The contrast between corporate financial health and household spending remained distinct during the quarter. Personal credit card usage climbed 6.2% to 231.52 trillion won in the second quarter, up from 218.06 trillion won a year earlier, but lagged behind the 10.6% growth seen in corporate accounts.

The gap was even wider when examining per-transaction metrics. Personal credit card spending per transaction inched up just 0.7% to 48,950 won, compared to 48,600 won a year prior. That modest increase contrasts sharply with the 9.0% jump in average corporate transaction amounts.

The Bank of Korea indicated that the financial trickle-down from corporate earnings to household consumption has experienced a time lag. The central bank projects that corporate income will gradually filter down to households and government coffers in the second half of the year through performance bonuses, dividend payouts, and expanded corporate tax revenues.

As corporate transaction volumes expand, South Korean credit card issuers are intensifying their efforts to capture corporate clients. Corporate accounts typically offer long-term stability once established, providing financial institutions with pathways to cross-sell employee financial products and corporate banking services.