The figures from The UK Cards Association as CI went to press reveal the total number of retail purchases on cards rose by 0.4% in September, while it fell by 0.3 per cent for all spending.
Similarly, spending by retail value rose by 0.2% to £23.3bn on cards, but fell by 0.6% to £30.9bn for all spending.
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For the fourth consecutive month, the number of purchases grew by approximately 10%, representing the highest rate of growth in a decade.
The figures reinforce the trend that consumers are relying more and more on cards over cash – even in a quarter where overall retail spending slowed.
During the third quarter of 2014, consumers made 57 million more purchases and spent £1.5 billion above the level recorded in the second quarter of that year.
Growth in the number of purchases continues to outstrip growth in the value of spend, indicating a continuing consumer preference to use cards more often for lower value payments. This is the highest rate of growth in a decade.
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By GlobalDataSo the figures provide further evidence of the move from cash to card but what of contactless?
The UKCA suggest that contactless cards have helped to accelerate the change in behaviour as more consumers become comfortable with contactless technology.
I remain a tad sceptical that UK consumers are falling in love with contactless.
The figures:
– 48.3m contactless cards have been issued that can be used to make a contactless payment. These cards are split between debit (28.8m) and credit / charge cards (19.5m).
– A mere £158.5m was spent in the UK in June using a contactless card.
Stats from YouGov in a report released a couple of days after the UKCA survey rather tend to suggest that there remains a fair degree of resistance to use contactless payment cards in the future.
Over half (53%) of survey respondents have never used a contactless debit or credit card, whilst 42% of non-owners say that they would definitely not be interested in contactless payments.
YouGov research director James McCoy concludes: "It is clear that some consumers still need to be convinced as to the benefits of contactless. As many payment methods on crucial public services move towards this method, it is also very important that the public is informed fully about contactless payment and the logistics behind it.”
