Credit beats cash to the finish line

Spending on credit and debit cards will, for the first time, overtake cash spending, it was announced today.

16:31 29 December 2004

Spending on credit and debit cards will, for the first time, overtake cash spending, it was announced today.

The Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) predicted that by Friday, shoppers would have spent 269 billion this year using cards, leaving cash spending just behind on 268 billion.

Jemma Smith, from APACS, said: "When the first plastic cards appeared in Britain in June 1966, only a handful of retailers accepted them and there were very few customers."

"But in less than 40 years, plastic has become our most popular way to pay, due to the added security and flexibility it offers."

Sainsbury's Bank, in response to the announcement, said it was not surprised by the figures.

"The convenience of using your cards is one of the main reasons for this. However, growing competition in the credit card market is also helping to fuel greater use of plastic," said Mr Brian Spinks, head of products for the bank.

According to Mr Spinks, the supermarket's credit card customers have nearly doubled in the past 18 months.

Figures show there are more than 130 million cards in use in the UK, with approximately 65 per cent of these being debit cards.