Southern English Consumers More Likely To Have Cards: Survey

Consumers in the Southeast region of England are more likely to have plastic payment cards than are consumers in other parts of the country, suggest survey data from the UK Payments Council, a trade group that helps set strategy for payments in the United Kingdom. The council based its findings on surveys of 3,859 adult consumers it conducted earlier this year. Ninety-seven percent of respondents from the Southeast reported having payment cards, while only 86% of respondents from West Midlands region said they did, making that region the lowest in England for plastic card ownership, the council says in a statement. Fifty-nine percent of consumers on the Southeast reported using mobile or Internet banking, the highest rate among England’s regions, while only 46% of consumers in the Northeast did, the lowest rate. Consumers in East Anglia make the fewest ATM withdrawals–51 per person each year, the council says. In general, more consumers in the southern parts of England have payment cards than do consumers in the northern parts, the council adds.