Credit card spending rose by 2.4% in July

Latest data from UK Finance has found that there were 415 million credit card transactions in July, 2.4 per cent more than in July 2024. The total spend of £22.8 billion was 2.1 per cent higher than July 2024.

Outstanding balances on credit card accounts have increased by 7.5 per cent over the twelve months to July, and 47.9 per cent of outstanding balances incurred interest, compared to 49.4 per cent in July 2024.

There were 415 million credit card transactions in July, 2.4 per cent more than in July 2024. The total spend of £22.8 billion was 2.1 per cent higher than July 2024

The number of contactless credit card transactions was 10.5 per cent higher than in July 2024. The number of contactless debit card transactions was 2 per cent higher than in July 2024. There were 2.3 billion debit card transactions in July, 0.7 per cent fewer than in July 2024. The total spend of £67.2 billion was 2.3 per cent lower than in July 2024.

There were 2.23 billion debit and credit card transactions in the UK in July, 2.5 per cent more than in July 2024. The total spend of £75.1 billion was 0.2 per cent higher than in July 2024.

Contactless payments accounted for 67 per cent of all credit card and 78 per cent of all debit card transactions. There were 1.69 billion contactless card transactions in July, 3.3 per cent more than the 1.64 billion in July 2024. The total value of contactless transactions was £27.1 billion in July, a 5.3 per cent increase on £25.8 billion in July 2024.