Consumers 'abandon credit cards for debit cards'
Published On 6 November 2007
More and more consumers switched from credit cards to debit cards in the third quarter of 2007, a new report indicates.Figures released by the UK payments association, Apacs, show that there were 1.7 billion plastic card purchases made in the UK during the three-month period, totalling £86.6 billion.
However, the data showed that debit cards accounted for 71.7 per cent of all plastic card purchases in the quarter, up from 70.1 per cent in the same months of 2007. This indicates that people are switching away from credit cards.
Despite this move, the report cited Bank of England figures which show that gross credit card lending to individuals in the third quarter of 2007 amounted to £32.2 billion.
A statement from Apacs added: "The sum of all monthly repayments to UK banks amounted to £30.6 billion. During the 12 months to the end of September 2007 outstanding credit card balances have reduced by £1.4 billion."
Figures from moneyexpert.com recently indicated that credit card application rejections have risen by 17 per cent in the last six months.
