Britons ‘more cautious’ about credit card debt

Britons are showing more caution about spending on their credit cards, it has been suggested, something that could lower the chances of them needing debt help links in the future.

Credit card usage has been falling, while the popularity of debit cards has been rising, noted Neil Munroe, external affairs director at Equifax.

He was speaking following the publication of the latest figures from Apacs, the UK payments association, which revealed that credit card expenditure dropped three per cent during the first quarter of this year.

“It is mirroring what I think we all know is happening – people are spending what they have got rather than borrowing money at the moment,” Mr Munroe stated.

Debit cards accounted for nearly three-quarters (74.5 per cent) of total plastic card spending last year, which hit £94.2 billion, Apacs reported.

The amount spent on plastic cards rose by 5.4 per cent over the 12-month period, it added.

By Jamie Price