Market analysts Datamonitor said that the combined value of transactions made on charge, credit, debit and store cards was up by over 11 per cent last year, compared to 2003.

Report author Kieran Hines said that plastic was quickly becoming the preferred payment method in the UK edging out both cash and checks.

Mr Hines added: “Consumers are more comfortable using cards for both day-to-day transacting and borrowing, and this continues to drive growth in the market.”

Spending on plastic accounted for 60 per cent of overall household expenditure in 2004 compared to 44 per cent in 2000 and just 26 per cent in 1995.

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