A new report from independent market analysts Datamonitor reveals the UK card market has once again set a new record for the level of spending on plastic.
The combined value of transactions made on charge, credit, debit and private label (store) cards was 511 billion in 2006, up 8.7% on 2005 levels. In 2006, the value of transactions made on the high street with credit and debit cards was equal to 63% of the value of total retail sales, up from 47% in 2001 and just 38% in 1998.
“The fact that growth in card use has outpaced that of total spending clearly demonstrates that UK consumers are and continue to grow more comfortable with the use of plastic cards, replacing both cash and cheques in the process,” says Andrew Fabricius of Datamonitor.
Datamonitor forecasts that the value of payment card spending will reach 652 billion by 2011.