Card Spending Statistics in the UK for April 2025
UK Card Spending Shows Modest Growth in April 2025
New data from UK Finance reveals a rise in card spending across the nation in April 2025. The overall transaction volumes and total spend increased, with a significant growth in credit card usage and contactless payments.
The total card spending for April 2025 amounted to £74.9 billion, marking a 1.4% increase year-over-year (YoY). This growth was primarily driven by a 5.5% YoY increase in credit card spending to £22.1 billion, while debit card spending slightly dipped by 0.3% to £52.7 billion.
Transaction volumes also saw growth, with 372 million credit card transactions (+7.9% YoY) and 1.774 billion debit card transactions (+3.9% YoY). The data indicates a growing preference for digital and contactless transactions.
The rise in credit card spending is further underscored by an average outstanding balance per active card of £1,845, a 4.9% YoY increase. This suggests more use of credit or higher borrowing among consumers.
Card issuance numbers remained steady, with approximately 98 million debit cards and 59 million credit cards in circulation. Around 68% of UK adults hold at least one credit card, averaging 1.7 cards per person.
Contactless payments continue to rise in popularity, with contactless debit transactions up 5% YoY in April 2025. The contactless limit was increased to £100 in 2021, facilitating greater use. This shift towards contactless payments is reflected in the total value of contactless transactions, which reached £25.8 billion in April 2025, an 8.6% increase on £23.7 billion in April 2024.
The data also reveals that contactless payments accounted for 66% of all credit card transactions and 76% of all debit card transactions in April 2025. This further emphasises the growing prevalence of contactless payments in card transactions.
In summary, the April 2025 data indicates a modest growth in total card spend, driven mainly by credit card use, rising transaction volumes, stable issuance of cards, and expanding adoption of contactless payments in the UK. These trends reflect a robust card payments market with a strong shift towards digital and contactless transactions.
It's worth noting that outstanding balances on credit card accounts have grown by 6.6% over the twelve months to April 2025, indicating increased consumer borrowing or higher utilization compared to previous periods.
The data provided by UK Finance for April 2025 is the latest available and covers the monthly value and volume of transactions across debit and credit cards, both in the UK and of UK-issued cards across the world. This comprehensive dataset offers valuable insights into the current state and future direction of the UK's card payments market.
The growing preference for digital transactions, as indicated by the rise in contactless payments, is a reflection of the integration of technology in UK business and finance. The significant growth in credit card spending and contactless payments suggests a transition towards more advanced and efficient financial solutions in the UK.
