8 February 2008
Payments association APACS releases its spending figures for December - traditionally the busiest retail month of the year.
Credit card transactions dropped for the second year of the row in 2007, decreasing by £0.1 million from the December 2006 figure to hit £11.3 billion.
However, this was counterbalanced by a 7% rise in debit card spending, which rose to £20.9 billion.
Sandra Quinn, Director of Communications at APACS, said: "Despite talk of a slowdown once again we spent record amounts last Christmas, but it appears that the rapid pace of growth in our festive spending is starting to slow.
"This trend highlights what we have been seeing over the past few years with people increasingly opting to use their debit card rather than credit card; reflecting that people are thinking more carefully about whether they can afford to borrow. "
Overall, APACS found a 4% rise in card spending, with a total of £32.2 billion for the month marked.
Spending on plastic cards accounted for 64% of total December 2007 sales.
A total of £5.4 billion was spent online over the period.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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