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Credit card spending in Korea grew at a fast rate in January, amid signs of recovery in
the local economy. According to data released by the Credit Finance
Association Tuesday, purchases made with credit cards reached 44 billion U.S. dollars in the
first month of this year. That represents a growth of nine-percent from
the year before and the largest gain in 14 months.
There was also a steady rise in debit card use, which accounted for more than 18 percent
of all card purchases in January, up 2-point-six percentage points from a year earlier.
The association attributed the sharp rise to increased use of credit cards to pay taxes
and an increase in private spending ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.