UK: Card Spending Exceeds Cash in 2004

Among the facts reported:

• Spending on plastic cards, at £273 billion, outstripped cash spending (of £272 billion) for the first time ever in 2004
• The main driver in reaching this tipping point has been continued growth of debit card use, which reached record levels in 2004 accounting for almost two thirds (65 per cent) of all purchases made on plastic
• 2004 also saw the slowest growth in credit card use for more than a decade – with just four per cent growth in the number of credit cards in issue and only eight per cent growth in spending.
• The number of payment cards in issue reached a record 141 million
• More than 22 million adults in the UK made purchases online, accounting for 262 million transactions totalling £16 billion
• Credit cards accounted for almost three quarters (72 per cent) of all online transactions, which meant that 11p in every £1 spent on credit cards was spent online – compared to just 3p in the £1 for debit cards