South Korea’s credit card spending climbed 4.7 percent in 2013 from a year earlier, the slowest pace on record, a trade association said Tuesday.

Purchases made with credit cards totaled 545.2 trillion won ($502.8 billion) last year, up 24.27 trillion won from the previous year, according to the Credit Finance Association.

The data includes credit, debit and prepaid card use. Cash advances, overseas spending and card loans were not included.

The 2013 tally marks the slowest growth since 2005, when the association began to compile related data, and a sharp turn from the previous year’s 13.5 percent expansion.

“Credit card spending was restricted due to toughened regulations and reduced incentives on card spending,” the association said.

South Koreans carry multiple credit cards, which in part contributed to shoring up private spending in the past few years.

The data also showed that use of debit cards has been on a steady rise, accounting for over 16 percent of the total card purchases in 2013, apparently due to the government’s move to tighten credit card rules to reduce the country’s record-high household debts. (Yonhap)