27 October 2008 / by Rachael Stiles
The total value of transactions carried out using debit and credit cards this year is expected to reach £594 billion, according to research from Datamonitor.
This is a rise of 11 per cent compared to last year’s figure of £536 billion.
The increase in spending on debit and credit cards is largely due to consumers switching from other payment types such as cash and cheques, which was seen in the first half of 2008 when the total value of transactions on plastic cards increased seven per cent from the same period last year.
While some consumers are turning to credit cards as the current economic climate takes its toll on household budgets, the growth in card payments is coming mostly from the debit card sector, with Datamonitor forecasting an increase of 14 per cent this year in the value of debit card transactions.