Cheques losing their appeal at the tills

In a new report released today by APACS, the UK payment association found that debit cards gained in popularity with retailers as spending using a debit card rose by 11% in 2007. Conversely cheque spending fell 13% in volume during the same period.

Debit cards accounted for 42% (£109bn) of transactions; cheque payments, 3% (£7.5bn); while cash payments were 32% (£84bn).The figures also showed that while debit card payments have risen, credit card payments have levelled off over the last 3 years.

A spokeswoman for the association said that the figures while showing that plastic cards were becoming more even popular, and they highlighted the fact that people preferred to pay upfront as opposed to borrow.