Debit Card Usage Continues to Grow

Figures show trend towards plastic in general.

Consumer spending using credit cards grew by 2% last year, according to the latest figures from UK payments association Apacs.  The organization revealed that £126.2bn was spent using credit cards in 2008, up from £123.8bn in 2007.  However, retail spending using credit cards - which does not include financial payments or travel costs, among others - recorded a slight fall of 0.6% over the year, totalling £60.7bn, down from the £61.1bn spent in 2007.

Debit cards continued to grow in popularity, seeing 9.5% growth in all consumer spending and 6.8% in the retail sector.

"Despite what started to happen across the economy last year these latest figures don't reveal any marked changes from the annual trends we've seen over the past few years," said Apacs director of communications Sandra Quinn.

"Most notably consumers are increasingly choosing to use their debit cards in preference to cash or checks and also, it seems, their credit cards."

Figures released this week by the British Bankers' Association revealed that there were 93m credit card transactions in the UK during March, up 0.6m from February's total.