The number of credit cards held by South Koreans moved down in 2012 from a year earlier, data showed Monday, apparently as the protracted economic slump undermined consumer sentiment.

The country’s economically active population held 4.6 credit cards per person in 2012, industry data showed. The number compares to 4.9 tallied a year earlier, marking the first drop since 3.7 tallied five years ago.

Local credit firms have issued a total of 117.1 million cards as of end-2012. South Korea’s economically active population, or the number of people aged 15 years and above with the willingness to work, totaled 25.5 million.

Market watchers said the decline came as the prolonged economic slowdown dented consumer sentiment, and the government’s move to tighten credit card regulations to reduce the country’s record-high household debt also added to the fall.

The tougher rules also came as credit card firms have been under sharp criticism for charging far higher fees to small merchants than large retailers, thus pocketing excessive income.

The rising demand for debit cards also dented consumers’ appetite for credit cards, market watchers said. Debit cards accounted for 15.8 percent of the total card purchases in 2012, up 1.4 percentage points in 2011.

Meanwhile, purchases made with debit and credit cards accounted for 66.3 percent of local households’ private consumption expenditures in 2012, up 6.8 percentage points from 59.5 percent tallied a year earlier, the data added. (Yonhap News)