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Debit cards accounted for 73.4% of the 1.8 billion payment card purchases made in the United Kingdom during the second quarter ended 30 June, up from 71.6% during the same period last year, according to UK-based payments association APACS. The number of overall card purchases was up 5.8% from 1.7 billion a year earlier. The value of purchases made during the second quarter reached £92.6 billion (US$172 billion or 116.9 billion euros), up 7.4% from £86.2 billion during the same period last year. "The increase in number of purchases can have something to do with the increasing costs of goods and an increase in the cost of living," an APACS spokesperson tells CardLine Global. The number of ATM withdrawals cardholders made during the quarter reached 746 million, up 4.3% from 715 million withdrawals during the same period a year earlier. The value of those withdrawals was £45.9 billion, down 0.9% from £46.3 billion. Bank of England data suggest gross credit card lending to individuals during the quarter totalled £32.8 billion, up 5.1% from £31.2 billion during the same period last year. The total of all monthly repayments on credit cards to UK banks was £30.7 billion, up 2.3% from £30 billion.
