Online credit card payments continue to increase

10% of all card payments now happen online, according to the latest research from Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS). This a five fold increase since 1999 when the figure was just 2%.

The most popular purchases in 2003 were books and CDs, followed by travel, computer equipment, financial services and groceries.

Their findings also revealed that men shop more than women online with 35% of men making eleven or more purchases in the second half of 2003, compared to only 27% cent of women.

The APACS research found that when shopping online, most people prefer to use their credit card than their debit card, with the reason likely to be the increased protection against fraud.

APACS - www.apacs.org.uk