31 July 2008
New statistics from the British Bankers Association (BBA) have shed light on Britain's reliance on credit cards. According to the industry body, which sought to highlight "the enormous volume of business transacted round the clock" through UK banks, some 33,000 purchases are made using credit cards every ten minutes in the UK. This compares to the 46,000 UK people who visit ATM machines every ten minutes to withdraw over £3.2 million in cash. BBA figures also reveal that, again in just ten minutes of the day, banks in the UK process 132,000 plastic card payments. In comparison, they process just 23,000 cheques and 105,000 automated payments. Figures released last month by the housing charity Shelter show that in 2007 more than four million homeowners used their credit card to pay their mortgage or rent at least once. The research demonstrated consumers' increasing dependence on credit cards to meet financial commitments such as bills.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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