CompareTopCards.co.uk
According to Q2 2009 data release by APAC's, gross credit card lending to individuals during the second quarter of 2009 amounted to £30.7 billion and repayments were £30.0 billion. Gross lending was 6.3% lower and repayments were 5.2% lower than during the second quarter of 2008 when the figures were £32.8 billion and £31.6 billion respectively. This compares with 8.7% and 7.9% drop in gross credit card lending and repayments respectively in Q1 2009. Not only has the value of credit card transactions dropped, the volume also dropped 0.1% vs Q2 2008.
Repayments amounted to 97.6% of gross credit card advances in the second quarter of 2009, a higher percentage than in the corresponding period of 2008 when it was 96.4%. This shows consumers are still trying to avoid taking on more debt and trying to live within their means as a result of the credit crisis.
While credit card purchases and transactions have dropped the use of plastic continues to grow albeit at a lower rate driven by debit cards.In the second quarter of 2009 there were 1.97 billion plastic card purchases made in the UK totalling £95.5 billion compared to 1.84 billion purchases totalling £92.7 billion in the second quarter of 2008. The number of purchases was 6.9% higher than in 2008 Q2, and spending was 3.0% higher. Debit cards accounted for 74.7% of all plastic card purchases in Q2 2009 compared with 73.3% in Q2 2008.
