Australians are increasingly turning to debit cards for their daily transactions, with the number of cards increasing by 5.7 per cent over the last year.

 

Debit growth has come at the expense of the traditional credit cards, which only increased by 1 per cent over the same period.

 

The research released by East & Partners shows that consumers are increasingly wary of credit, preferring to use their own money for more and more transactions.

 

The value of national credit debt fell by 1 per cent in August to A$49.2 billion, the lowest level since January.

 

The nation’s credit card debt has now been declining since June, after it eclipsed A$50 billion for the first time in February this year.


In the past five years the amount of credit card debt outstanding has risen by almost 20 percent.