A report by APACS, The total amount of UK consumer spending via plastic cards reached £371.6bn during 2008
in a 6.8 per cent rise from 2007, according to the UK payments industry.the association founded by banks, printed plastic card issuers for the payments industry, shows a marked increase in plastic card spending from £347.8bn in 2007 and that automated payments by consumers increased £21.5bn (6.9 per cent) to £333.1bn last year, from £311.6bn in 2007. Debit card spending grew by £21.4bn (9.5 per cent) to reach £245.4bn.

The steady drop in consumer spending with cheques is also shown with figures showing a £13.5bn fall from £194.1bn in 2007 to £180.6bn in 2008. Cheques accounted for less than three quarters of the amount spent by UK consumers on their debit cards.

“Most notably consumers are increasingly choosing to use their debit cards in preference to cash or cheques and also, it seems, their credit cards.”
She added: “The rise to dominance of the debit card both on and off the high street has been meteoric – it was only back in December 2004 that combined total credit and debit card spending overtook total cash spending for the first time. This year we expect debit card spending alone will outstrip cash spending for the first time.”
The figures also show that plastic cards accounted for 66 per cent of all UK retail spending last year, rising 4.2 per cent from £169.8bn in 2007 to £176.8bn in 2008. And membership card , loyalty cards , Smart cards are rised £21.5bn (6.9 per cent) APACS, said: “Despite what started to happen across the economy last year these latest figures don’t reveal any marked changes from the annual trends we’ve seen over the past few years and plastic card. Smart card holograms will be used widely.