UK shoppers spend record amount on plastic

UK shoppers put a record amount on plastic last year with £321bn (€475bn) spent using debit and credit cards, figures showed today.

APACS, the UK payment association, said the total for 2006 was up 9% on the £295bn (€427bn) recorded in the previous year.

Consumers are now spending more than three times as much on plastic than they were a decade ago, with the payment method continuing to dominate over cash.

Debit cards have seen the greatest hike over the last 10 years, with total payment values rising by 427% over the period, from £37bn (€55bn) in 1996 to £195bn (€289bn) last year.

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