{"id":221683,"date":"2022-12-09T08:27:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T08:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/?p=221683"},"modified":"2022-12-09T17:30:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T17:30:13","slug":"card-payments-soared-to-90-of-retail-payments-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/card-payments-soared-to-90-of-retail-payments-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Card payments soared to 90% of retail payments in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Card use soared to 90% of total retail spending in 2021, with 82% of transactions on either on debit or credit card, up from 75% of transactions in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns \u201cchanged the way we pay\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cash accounted for just 15% of all transactions in 2021, down from 30% in 2020, according to the latest annual Payments Survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC<\/a>). The remaining 3% of transactions was made up of \u201calternative payments\u201d, such as buy now pay later (BNPL) and gift cards.<\/p>\n

As a proportion of total money spent, cash accounted for just 8% of consumer spend \u00a0in 2021 (down from 15% in 2020), while credit cards rose slightly to 23%, and debit cards rose significantly to 67% (up from 59% in 2020).<\/p>\n

While card usage soared, so did the costs associated with accepting payments. Retailers incurred costs of \u00a31.3 billion just to accept card payments from customers in 2021.<\/p>\n

Debit cards, which accounted for the majority of transactions, saw scheme fees rise by 28% compared to 2020, and total Merchant Service charges increased by 12%. That translated into an additional \u00a3141 million in costs imposed by card firms onto retailers just to process debit card transactions.<\/p>\n

The BRC, along with other business groups, have long been calling for intervention on anti-competitive practices in card payments in order to protect British businesses.<\/p>\n

The BRC says the following actions must be urgently considered:<\/p>\n