4 July 2007
Britons' love affair with credit cards is as strong as ever, a new report from APACS has revealed.
According to figures from the UK payments association, Britons spent 321 billion on plastic in 2006.
Furthermore, this total represents a three-fold rise in credit card spending since 1996.
In contrast the way we use cash rose just 17% to 274 billion in 2006, up from 235 billion a decade ago.
Sandra Quinn, Director of Communications at APACS, said: "The last ten years have seen a rapid rise in the popularity of plastic, with debit cards showing particularly strong growth.
"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.
She expected the next decade to bring even more spending via plastic: "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."
The amount we now spend on our plastic cards is just under one third of total consumer spending in the UK, with a remaining 710 billion made up of cash, automated payments and cheques.