The figure is a whopping 321 billion pounds - over 3 times than 10 years ago.

Jul 3, 2007
Reuters

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Consumers spent a record amount on plastic cards last year, figures show.

A total 321 billion pounds was spent on debit, credit and store cards in Britain in 2006, according to a APACS, the UK payments association.

That figure has more than trebled in the last 10 years: in 1996, just 87 billion pounds was spent on plastic.

"The last ten years have seen a rapid rise in the popularity of plastic, with debit cards showing particularly strong growth," said Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS.

Debit cards accounted for 61 percent and credit cards for 39 percent of spending on plastic cards in 2006.

In 2005, cards exceeded cash in overall retail spending for the first time and the gap between the two widened last year, with just 274 billion pounds being spent in cash.

Looking ahead, Quinn added: "Over the next ten years it is expected that spending on plastic cards will continue to dominate the payments arena, accounting for 89 percent of growth in UK payment volumes by 2016."

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