Debit cards have been the most popular way to pay for seven years

Debit cards continue to be the most common method of payment in the UK with their popularity rising among consumers, says the UK's payments body.

Apacs said UK debit card spending reached £221bn in 2007, a rise of 13% compared with 2006 and nearly five times the level of a decade earlier.

Internet spending with debit cards also rose compared with credit cards.

The figures came on the same day as Lloyds TSB faced criticism for offering debit cards to 11 to 16 year olds.

The High Street bank said it is offering its young customers, who already own a Lloyds cashpoint card, an upgrade to a debit card.

The bank said that this was already standard practice across much of the industry.


Apacs said the rise in debit card use outstripped that of credit cards, which was up 6% to £133bn in 2007 compared with the previous year.


The report also shows that last year debit cards even gained ground in areas where credit cards have traditionally had a firm hold - particularly on the internet
Sandra Quinn, Apacs

Automated payments, such as direct debits, grew the most year-on-year - up a tenth to £312bn.

In contrast, the use of cash grew by just 0.4% and payments by cheque were down by 1% in the same period.

"Over the past three years we've seen a pattern emerge: debit cards have increasingly become consumers' first choice over other options, such as cash, cheques and credit cards," said Sandra Quinn, of Apacs.

She suggested that, despite the squeeze on household finances, early indications from 2008 showed that there had not been a surge in credit card spending.

"The report also shows that last year debit cards even gained ground in areas where credit cards have traditionally had a firm hold - particularly on the internet," said Ms Quinn.

But she advised consumers to use credit cards when making online buys owing to the greater consumer protection they provided.

The figures were published as Lloyds TSB revealed that it had started writing to young customers one month ago to offer them a debit card.

Lloyds TSB says controls are in place on teenagers' debit card use

Previously, children aged 11 to 16 with an Lloyds TSB account were given a card which allowed them to withdraw money from cashpoints.

The bank says it is writing to the youngsters to offer them an "upgrade" to a debit card which they can use for purchases on the internet.

"The debit card does not allow customers to go overdrawn and prevents purchases on websites with adult content or gambling sites," said a spokeswoman for Lloyds TSB.

The bank is writing directly to the youngster, rather than securing parental consent, but says it is putting guides for parents in with the letters.

A parent or guardian can ask for the card to be blocked if they are not happy with how their child is using it.

The bank will levy a fee on the retailer each time the card is used.

One father reportedly complained to the bank, claiming that his 15-year-old son bought cheap cigarettes, Viagra and a fake adult ID on the internet using one of Lloyd's cards.

The Visa-enabled card allows a youngster to withdraw up to £300 from their account in a day if they have sufficient funds.

with the crisis right now we are more careful on making budgets and debit card is a good means for budgeting. With the use of debit card we are only using what we have.