July 31, 2006

Britons' addiction to credit cards is growing as new figures show that we are spending more on plastic than ever.

According to the UK payments association Apacs, £26.4 billion was spent in June, taking total card spending in the first six months of 2006 to a record £151 billion.

However, it also showed that 70 per cent of plastic transactions are on debit rather than credit cards.

This is a change from 2003 when spending on either type was roughly the same.

"Our figures show that while there are certain situations when we prefer to use a credit card rather than a debit card, there is a continuing trend to pay more frequently by debit card," said Sandra Quinn, director of communications at Apacs.

Despite this, it shows that Britain's love affair with credit card and plastic spending has not diminished despite the shift in card use.

"We expect this trend to continue, with debit cards being used more and more extensively for lower-value payments that are currently made by cash," added Ms Quinn.