Card firms profit rises 5.6 percent

Credit card companies in Korea saw their combined net profit rise by more than 5 percent in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, due to an increase in commission income, data showed Thursday.

The combined net profit of eight credit card firms totaled 1.29 trillion won ($931 million), up 5.6 percent from January through June of last year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Their combined revenue rose 1.8 percent, or 252 billion won, to 14.59 trillion won over the cited period, and combined costs increased by a smaller margin of 1.4 percent, or 184 billion won, to 13.29 trillion won.

Their delinquency ratio came to 1.54 percent as of end-June, up 0.02 percentage point from six months ago.

Meanwhile, the financial regulator said the combined net profit of specialized credit finance companies, excluding credit card firms, came to 2.24 trillion won during the first half of the year, up 25.4 percent from the same six-month period in 2025.

There were 189 specialized credit finance firms, according to the FSS. They include installment financing, leasing and new technology venture businesses.

Yonhap