Number of card payments tops 1 billion per month in UK
Posted on in Business News
A total of 205 billion card payments were made worldwide in 2013, a rise of 13 per cent on 2012, according to a new report from consulting firm RBR.
The number of payment cards in existence rose 11 per cent to 10.8 billion, reflecting an expanding physical and virtual merchant acceptance network, as well as a gradual migration from cash, said the researchers.
Meanwhile, separate figures released this week by The UK Cards Association showed that the monthly number of card transactions made in the UK topped one billion for the first time in August.
The latest figures from The UK Cards Association showed there were now 375 transactions made every second in the UK, with debit cards leading the rise.
Consumers made 1.006 billion card transactions in August, up 9.2 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier. In total, 774 million purchases were made using a debit card, up 9.5 per cent from August 2013. Some 232 million purchases were made with a credit card, an 8.4 per cent rise.
Overall, spending on debit cards grew at 7.9 per cent year-on-year, to £33.6 billion, nearing double the growth rate of credit card expenditure, which increased by 4.3 per cent to £13.7 billion.
The average card transaction amount fell by 15p between July and August 2014, down to £47.14. But overall spending in the retail sector rose by £119 million to £23.5 billion.
Richard Koch, head of policy at The UK Cards Association, said: "A billion card transactions in a month is a major milestone and a clear indicator of the transformation in how we all spend.
"Rather than walking around with wads of notes or pockets full of coins, we're increasingly choosing to use a card instead. With the rise in contactless transactions as a convenient way to make smaller payments, and online shopping too, it's debit cards in particular that are leading the rise."
As cash use declines in favour of card payments, it's worth noting that retailers could face higher costs because of this. The average cost to a retailer to process a credit or charge card payment has risen by 18.3% in the last five years to 40.9 pence.
At the same time, the cost to process a cash payment has declined by 38% in the last five years to 1.3 pence. Meanwhile debit cards costs have increased by 4% over the same period to 8.8 pence per transaction.
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