According to data from the UK Card Association, during the period under review, spending on debit cards has reached GBP 35 billion, as compared to GBP 34 billion on credit cards. The same source indicates that total online card spending has increased by GBP 5 billion in 2012, with consumers spending GBP 68 billion online.
Research also shows that 61 percent of the UK adult population has a credit card, while 81 percent of all credit and charge card spending in 2012 was made by cardholders who repaid the balance in full. Results find that each debit cardholder has made 205 transactions in 2012, up by 10 transactions on the previous year, while the equivalent figure for credit cards is 68 purchases a year.
The association has attributed the migration from cash and cheques to the increasing number of point-of-sale terminals and the number of UK retail outlets which now accept cards. Currently, there are 32 million contactless cards in circulation in the UK, with 70 contactless transactions per minute reported at the end of 2012, rising to 120 in March 2013.
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