Credit cards and debit cards in the United Kingdom (UK)

Statistics report that compares the use of credit cards against debit cards in the United Kingdom (UK)

Credit cards and debit cards in the United Kingdom (UK)

A country where debit cards reign supreme, credit cards in the United Kingdom traditionally play only a small part in daily life. This is further accentuated by both a declining credit card debt since the coronavirus pandemic as well as a decreasing amount of credit cards being issued.

This report aims to compare the use of credit cards and debit cards against each other within the United Kingdom. How are the two payment methods developing within the country? Which brands are important? And how secure are consumers with using either? The main focus of this report includes:

       
  • Card penetration;
  •   
  • Preferred brands;
  •    
  • Card debt;

This particular report is an expansion to another publication, which compares the use of credit and debit cards in the UK against other (cashless) payment methods available within the country. This report can be found below:
       
  1. Digital payments in the United Kingdom (UK).

Table of contents

Penetration

5
  • Premium Statistic Monthly number of active credit card accounts in the UK 2012-2023
  • Premium Statistic Annual credit card and debit cards issued in the UK 2000-2022
  • Basic Statistic Credit cards and debit cards per capita in the United Kingdom 2010-2021
  • Premium Statistic Credit card penetration in 42 countries in Europe 2021
  • Premium Statistic Credit card penetration in 161 countries worldwide 2011, 2014, 2017, 2021

User behavior

5
  • Premium Statistic Triennial credit card penetration in the UK 2011-2024, by demographic
  • Premium Statistic Triennial debit card penetration in the UK 2011-2024, by demographic
  • Premium Statistic Top POS and e-commerce payment methods for small-ticket items in Europe 2022
  • Premium Statistic Top POS and e-commerce payment methods for big-ticket items in Europe 2022
  • Premium Statistic Credit and debit card adoption in POS or e-commerce worldwide 2022, by region

Spending

7
  • Premium Statistic Monthly payment card spending, credit or debit, in the UK 2014-2023, in GBP and USD
  • Premium Statistic Annual credit card spending in the UK 2012-2022, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Monthly credit card spending in the UK 2000-2023, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Size of a credit card transaction in the UK 2012-2022, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Annual debit card spending in the UK 2012-2022, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Monthly debit card spending in the UK 2014-2023, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Size of a debit card transaction in the UK 2012-2022, in local currency and USD

Transaction count

5
  • Premium Statistic Monthly number of payment card transactions in the UK 2014-2023
  • Premium Statistic Monthly number of credit card transactions in the UK 2014-2023
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of credit card transactions in the UK 2012-2022, per capita
  • Premium Statistic Monthly number of debit card transactions in the UK 2014-2023
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of debit card transactions in the UK 2012-2022, per capita

Credit card debt

5
  • Premium Statistic Monthly credit card debt in the UK 1993-2023
  • Premium Statistic Annual credit card debt per household in the UK 1996-2022
  • Premium Statistic Monthly credit card interest rate in the UK 1995-2023
  • Premium Statistic Monthly average credit card purchase value in the UK 2016-2023
  • Basic Statistic Annual growth rate of credit card lending in the UK 2010-2023

Brands and issuers

5
  • Premium Statistic Biggest international and domestic payment card schemes in the UK 2016-2022
  • Premium Statistic Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners market share against each other in Europe 2015-2022
  • Premium Statistic Visa, Mastercard share against domestic solutions in 14 countries in Europe 2021
  • Premium Statistic Biggest merchant acquirers in Europe 2016-2022, based on number of transactions
  • Premium Statistic Payment types accepted by all e-commerce vendors in the UK in 2022 and 2024

Forecasts

5
  • Premium Statistic PoS and e-commerce spending growth in the UK 2022, with a 2026 forecast
  • Premium Forecast Penetration rate of credit cards in the United Kingdom 2014-2029
  • Premium Forecast Number of credit cards in use in the United Kingdom 2014-2029
  • Premium Forecast Penetration rate of debit cards in the United Kingdom 2014-2029
  • Premium Forecast Number of debit cards in use in the United Kingdom 2014-2029

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