Credit and debit card use for consumer spending increased by more than nine per cent in September, compared to September 2009, with shoppers heeding recent Bank of England advice to spend the country out of recession.

New figures released by Barclaycard show that the amount spent on credit and debit cards, both in-store and online, increased by 9.5 per cent in September – the fifth month in a row that the annual growth rate has increased by more than nine per cent.

The British Chambers of Commerce recently revealed figures showing ‘slower than expected’ growth in the third quarter, driven largely by poor performance in the manufacturing and service sectors. However, the Barclaycard Spending Index highlighted that the retail sector is surviving, after many retailers saw a strong summer of results.

However, spending in September decreased by 3.3 per cent compared to August 2010 – although Barclaycard said this is the ‘usual’ slowdown following the summer.

“Summer spending held up well, allowing the likes of Debenhams and John Lewis to report impressive half-year results, and giving the sector a strong platform from which to move into autumn,” commented Stuart Neal, head of Barclaycard UK Payment Acceptance. “Shoppers are heeding Charles Bean’s (Deputy Governor of the Bank of England) call to help the UK get back in the black.”

The Index is based on spending on all credit and debit cards across 44 retail sectors.

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