• Cheque spending in the high street declines 7.5% as retailers stop accepting cheques at the tills
• Plastic cards accounted for 65% of all UK retail spending last year
• Latest statistics indicate that consumers prefer to shop with their debit card, and think twice before using their credit card for shopping

Figures released today (9 May 2008) by APACS, the UK payments association, show that the debit card retains its popularity at retailers, with spending rising by 11% last year. This rise serves as a stark contrast from cheque spending, which declined by 7.5% in terms of value and 13% by volume, over the same period.

The statistics, which cover all retail transactions in 2007 (both online and offline), show debit card spending at 42 per cent (£109bn) of the total £261bn spent, against cheque at 3 per cent (£7.5bn) and cash at 32 per cent (£84bn).

Interestingly, the findings also reveal that whilst the debit card is experiencing a hike in usage, credit card spending at retailers has plateaued over the last three years. This suggests that people are tending to prefer a ’pay now’ approach as opposed to a ‘pay later’ option, when at the tills. 

UK retail spending*
	2007	2006	2005	2004
Debit cards	£109bn	£98bn	£89bn	£83bn
Credit cards	£61bn	£60bn	£61bn	£61bn
Plastic card total	£170bn	£158bn	£150bn	£143bn
Cash spending	£84bn	£81bn	£81bn	£84bn
Cheques	£7.4bn	£8.0bn	£9bn	£11bn

 

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS says:

"As retailers are increasingly deciding to stop accepting cheques, it is expected that a large proportion of those payments will migrate to debit card payments. This will simply accelerate a change that is well underway as over the last three years we have seen debit card spending rise 31%, cheque spending fall 33% and cash spending reach a point of equilibrium.

"We are becoming increasingly reliant on our plastic cards at retailers as they offer us convenience, speed and access to services, such as the cashback facility, which other payment options cannot provide.  Different situations suit certain payments and it seems that the high street is truly the place for the debit card.”

ENDS

For further information contact the APACS Press Office on 020 7711 6316 or press@apacs.org.uk

Notes to editors:

1 APACS is the trade body that gives banks, building societies and card issuers a forum where they can work together on non-competitive issues. We help manage the way that businesses and individuals in the UK move their money around - this covers cash, credit and debit cards, cheques and automated payments such as Direct Debits, salary payments and online/phone transactions. We lead the fight against banking fraud and twice a year we publish figures on payment industry fraud losses.

2 *UK Retail Spending includes all transactions on the high street and online.

3 APACS publishes an annual series of publications, The Way We Pay, in conjunction with other parts of the payments industry. The 2008 versions of The Way We Pay: UK Plastic Cards is due out imminently.

4 APACS statistics are compiled from information provided by APACS members.