Data also reveals that credit card spending rose by 2 percent, from GBP 124 billion in 2007 to GBP 126 billion in 2008, with cheque use declining by more than 10 percent compared to the previous year. Overall, almost three-quarters of all plastic cards transactions in the UK in 2008 were carried out using debit cards.
The figures released by APACS, the UK payments association, reveal that the number of debit cards currently in circulation in Britain has trumped the number of existing credit cards. According to APACS, in 2007 72 million debit cards and 73 million credit and store cards were in circulation in the UK, while in 2008 the figures shifted, with 71 million credit cards and 75 million debit cards currently in use. Moreover, both the number of credit cardholders and issued credit cards has declined by 2 percent throughout 2008 compared to the previous year.
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