Debit card spending by internet shoppers overtook the use of credit cards online for the first time last year, industry figures show.

Online spending using a debit card hit £35bn compared with £34bn on credit cards, the UK Cards Association said.

Shoppers are also using debit cards more frequently in stores.

Each debit card holder made an average of 205 transactions with their cards last year, the data shows, an increase of 10 on the previous year.

Some 91% of the UK adult population have a debit card and 61% have a credit card.

Use of these cards has increased as more shops have accepted them, and as more stores use devices such as chip-and-pin machines.

The association predicts that spending on cards in the next 10 years will nearly double from £477bn to £840bn.

source BBC News