Consumer Payments across the UK

The UK Payments Council has recently created an online, interactive Payment Regions map here [1] to demonstrate the varied payment attitudes, preferences and behaviours that can be seen in the different regions across the UK.

The Payments Council's research reveals:

• If you live in the South East you are most likely to have a plastic card (97%), whereas if you live in the West Midlands you are least likely to have one (86%).
• If you live in the South East you are most likely to use phone or internet banking (59 per cent), whilst if you are in the North East you are least likely to (46%).
• Adults in East Anglia make the lowest number of cash machine withdrawals (51 per person annually).
• Fewer Scots write cheques than in any other region (20% compared to the average for Britain of 31%), whilst Londoners depend on cheques the most (39%). The national average of people using cheques regularly fell by 6% between 2008 and 2009.

Sandra Quinn, Director of Communications at the UK Payments Council, says: "This research, on the whole, confirms long standing trends; increasing reliance on debit cards and phone or internet banking and a noticeable decline in use of cheques. That said, while there are clear nationwide trends there are also parts of the country which stand out in comparison to the national statistics, for example the proportion of adults in the North East using internet or phone banking, which at 46 per cent is 7 per cent below the national average.”
Quinn adds:
“Payment Regions brings together these regional variations and offers a fascinating insight into how our payment habits compare with those of our neighbours. It also demonstrates how as a nation our payment habits have evolved to take advantage of new technology and to meet the needs of our ever more demanding lifestyles."

[1] UK Payments Council