Credit card industry's net profit fell by 9 percent last year due to cost increases
Published: 19 Mar. 2026, 13:47
Updated: 19 Mar. 2026, 15:24
![A person using a credit card [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/03/19/4a11fe9e-6ee1-49a3-9788-8868208fe71a.jpg)
A person using a credit card [YONHAP]
Credit card companies in Korea saw their combined net profit fall 9 percent last year from a year earlier, due to a fall in commission income and increased financial costs, data showed Thursday.
The combined net profit of eight credit card firms came to 2.36 trillion won ($1.57 billion) last year, down from 2.59 trillion won in net profit a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Their combined revenue increased 0.1 percent, or 25 billion won, to 28.24 trillion won over the cited period, but combined costs increased by a larger margin of 1 percent, or 256 billion won, to 25.88 trillion won.
Their delinquency ratio came to 1.52 percent as of the end of last December, down 0.13 percentage points from a year ago.
Transactions by credit and debit cards rose 3.5 percent on year, or 42 trillion won, to 1.23 quadrillion won last year.
Meanwhile, the financial regulator said the combined net profit of specialized credit finance companies, excluding credit card firms, came to 3.55 trillion won last year, up 43 percent from a year earlier.
There were 183 specialized credit finance firms, according to the FSS. They include installment financing, leasing and new technology venture businesses.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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