Fuelled by the continued popularity of contactless transactions among Britons, the total card spending has hit a record £57.1bn figure in June this year, surging 7.2% compared to the card spending of £53.5bn in June 2016, according to figures released by UK Finance.
The new trade body for the UK’s banking industry said nearly 1.4 billion card payments were made in June, a monthly record and a 12% rise in the last 12 months.
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UK Finance termed the achievement as the biggest annual growth in the number of payments since June 2008, driven by a robust rise in online (+20%) and contactless (+143%) purchases.
Contactless payments accounted for 34% of all card transactions, while online payments accounted for 13%.
Debit card transactions rose by 7.3% to £40.6bn in June 2017, compared to £38.2bn in last June. Credit card payments also grew by 6.9% to £16.5bn compared to £15.4bn during the corresponding period last year.
The average transaction value on all card payments fell by 16p to £41.36 in June, the lowest level since June 2000. This compares to £43.53 a year ago and £50.55 at the peak in July 2011.
UK Finance head of cards Richard Koch said: “Contactless payments accounted for a third of transactions in June with consumers continuing to use their cards for lower value purchases.
“While spending recorded a relatively modest monthly growth, the number of transactions rose at a faster rate with some 46 million card purchases made every day.”
