Statistics of UK credit/debit cards holders and usage

UK residents are more likely to own a debit card than a credit card. By January 2019, there were 60.1 million credit cards issued to UK residents, and 98.6 million debit cards issued. In other words, people are 64% more likely to own a debit card. The total number of cards issued has risen from 157.6 million in 2018 to 158.7 million in 2019, with 144,000 debit cards and 951,000 credit cards being issued.

Brits make 1.3 billion debit card transactions compared to 337 million credit card transactions in January 2019.

In January 2019, the average Brit made 31 transactions, of which 25 were on a debit card and 6 were on a credit card. Both online and contactless transactions were more popular on debit cards, with the average Brit making 3 online and 10 contactless transactions on a debit card compared to 2 online and 2 contactless transactions on a credit card.

The average purchase via credit card is £54.98, 67% higher than the debit card’s average of £33. Contactless purchases are also higher on a credit card, with an average value of £9.86 per transaction on credit card compared to £9.08 per transaction on debit card. However, when it comes to online purchases, the average transaction is higher on a debit card (£83.61 per transaction) compared to credit cards (£66.02 per transaction).

Source  – Finder/BoE/MoneyCharity

 

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