Britons tackling credit card debt

Payments association Apacs claims that the amount of people repaying their credit card debt each month in full has risen while the number of transactions fell to 2.1 billion.

Although this is only a one per cent drop on the previous month and it still represents a one per cent increase in total credit card spending, it does show that more consumers are acting to clear debt.

Instead, spending on debit cards has risen and use of these types of cards is now more popular than cash payment, the figures reveal.

In total, the amount of people repaying credit card debt in full each month rose from 56 per cent in 2004 to 59 per cent this year.

Debit card spending accounts for 37 per cent of transactions compared to 34 per cent for cash.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at Apacs, commented: “Nervousness about economic growth could well have contributed to the reduction in credit card spending and higher repayments, alongside media speculation about whether consumers are borrowing responsibly.”