Plastic card spending grows

The amount of money we spend on debit and credit cards has increased three-fold in the last ten years, reaching record levels.

Figures from the UK payments association Apacs show that we spent a combined total of £321 billion on plastic cards in 2006.

That compares to the £87 billion that was spent in the same way back in 1996 and debit cards have seen the biggest rise.

Debit cards accounted for 61 per cent of all plastic card spend, totalling £195 billion – five times the amount spent in this way in 1996.

Credit cards accounted for 39 per cent of plastic card spend, with £126 billion being spent in this way – twice the amount of 1996.

“The last ten years have seen a rapid rise in the popularity of plastic, with debit cards showing particularly strong growth,” said Sandra Quinn, Apacs’ director of communications.

“Consumers enjoy the ease and convenience plastic cards bring and today most retailers and supermarkets take plastic, as do an increasing number of professional service providers.

“Over the next ten years it is expected that spending on plastic cards will continue to dominate the payments arena, accounting for 89 per cent of growth in UK payment volumes by 2016,” she added.

Spending in the retail sector saw the gap between cash and card payments widen between 2005 and 2006.

Tags: card payments, professional service providers, payment, apacs, Association, UK payment volumes, card, debit and credit