The UK Cards Association has announced that for the firsttime ever, the number of payment card transactions in the UK has exceeded onebillion a month for the first time. According to the industry body, consumers made1.006 billion transactions using their debit and credit cards in August, up by9.2% from August 2013.
Breaking down the data, the UK Cards Association announcedthat UK consumers in August made 774 million payments via debit cards and 232million via credit cards which both represented an increase of nearly 10% fromthe year before. In terms of spending, overall debit card spending rose to £33.6billion ($54.08) and spending on credit cards reached £13.7 ($22.05) billionwhich represent year-over-year growth of 7.9% and 4.3% respectively.
Commenting on the news, “A billion card transactions in amonth is a major milestone and a clear indicator of the transformation in howwe all spend. Rather than walking around with wads of notes or pockets full ofcoins, we’re increasingly choosing to use a card instead. With the rise incontactless transactions as a convenient way to make smaller payments, andonline shopping too, its debit cards in particular that are leading the rise.”
With the macroeconomic conditions across Europe and the UKimproving significantly, consumers are more willing to spend their hard earnedincome. While the UK has long been a mature payment card market, shiftingpreferences has seen consumers move to electronic payments over traditionalpayment instruments like cash more quickly. As a result, moving forward thevolume and value of spending on electronic payment cards in the UK will onlygrow more rapidly.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, International Advisory Service for Mercator Advisory Group
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