Payments Council: Where we Live Shapes How we Pay

The UK Payments Administration has put together an interactive digital map of the United Kingdom.  Their press release follows:  To take a look at the different regions and how they compare (or differ) click here.

Latest study shows that where we live shapes how we pay

23 Dec 2009

The Payments Council has created an online, interactive map to demonstrate the varied payment attitudes, preferences and behaviours that can be seen in the different regions across the UK

Payments Council research reveals:

• Plastic cards: If you live in the South East you are most likely to have a plastic card (97%), whereas if you live in the West Midlands you are least likely to have one (86%).


• Phone or internet banking: If you live in the South East you are most likely to use phone or internet banking (59 per cent), whilst if you are in the North East you are least likely to (46%).


• Cash: Adults in East Anglia make the lowest number of cash machine withdrawals (51 per person annually).


• Cheque usage:  Fewer Scots write cheques* than in any other region (20% compared to the average for Britain of 31%), whilst Londoners depend on cheques the most (39%). The national average of people using cheques regularly fell by 6% between 2008 and 2009.

Taking a broad North-South** view, more Southerners hold plastic cards (95%) compared to their northern neighbours (91%); when it comes to cash withdrawals there isn’t a significant North South divide - Northerners and Southerners tend to make a similar number of cash withdrawals, both in terms of volume (59 and 58 respectively) and value (£3,855 and £3,920 respectively). There are however, more cheque users in the South as 35% of adults regularly use cheques for spontaneous payments, compared to 27% in the North.



Sandra Quinn, director of communications, says:

"This research, on the whole, confirms long standing trends; increasing reliance on debit cards and phone or internet banking and a noticeable decline in use of cheques. That said, while there are clear nationwide trends there are also parts of the country which stand out in comparison to the national statistics, for example the proportion of adults in the North East using internet or phone banking, which at 46 per cent is 7 per cent below the national average.



“Payment Regions brings together these regional variations and offers a fascinating insight into how our payment habits compare with those of our neighbours. It also demonstrates how as a nation our payment habits have evolved to take advantage of new technology and to meet the needs of our ever more demanding lifestyles."

To access the digital map, please click here.