Switch from Credit Cards Also Occurring Abroad
| April 26, 2010 |
Think that you are the only one deciding to use your credit card less? If so, think again as when it comes to the switch to using debit cards more than a credit card; the cardholders in the United States are not alone. Like America, our Australian counterparts have decided that it is now time to change the type of plastic they have come to enjoy to something that is not as costly to use.
When it comes to overall card usage in Australia it is reported that more than 275 million transactions are record each month (of that an average of 116 million are contributed to credit cards) over the past five years. While the number of card usage is staggering, over the same time period Australian credit card usage has dropped nearly 17% and is expected to drop even more within the coming months. In what seem to be the story across every country, the reasoning for the usage decline does not seem to be surprising. It is due to high interest rates as well as increased fees.
As was the case here in America, it seems that cardholders around the world are starting to move toward living within their means, and using their own money instead of borrowing it from banks. In many cases the use of debit cards has increased dramatically and has taken center stage as the card to use. While no one for sure knows exactly how high or long the trend of switching to debit cards will last, the thing that is for sure is that it is not just one single country that has made the move and many more will probably soon follow suit.
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