Barclaycard reveals February card spending trends

Data from Barclaycard Global Payment Acceptance shows payments made on credit and debit cards were up 7.1% in February compared to the same month last year. The increase follows on from figures that showed that credit and debit card spending was up 3.6% in January 2010 compared to January 2009.

Whilst February 2010 showed an increase over the previous year, on a month-by-month basis, spending on debit and credit cards declined slightly by 2.5% from January, in line with expectations.

The Barclaycard Retail Card Spending Index is based on spending on all credit and debit cards across a wide range of retail sectors, at retailers that use Barclaycard to process their credit and debit card transactions. Barclaycard Global Payment Acceptance processes payments for 87,000 businesses in the UK both physically and online - about a third of the market.

Commenting on the data, Stuart Neal, Head of UK Payment Acceptance said: "The numbers show that things are looking up for retailers this year. The small drop from last month is typical of what we see at this time of year and is caused by the residual effects of the January sales and households returning to a more regular spending pattern."

With an overall market share of over 30%, Global Payment Acceptance captures a significant proportion of all retail transactions in the UK. The index is based on the analysis of the 12-month variation in volumes of card transactions month-on-month, and incorporates specific filters to ensure the data is not affected by changes to the customer base over time.

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Notes to editors:
Barclaycard Global Payment Acceptance enables businesses to accept credit and debit card payments. The data in this index relates to retailers’ credit and debit card transactions processed by Barclaycard rather than purchases made with a Barclaycard.

The index does not take into account the affects of any cash payments made to retailers

About Barclaycard
Barclaycard, part of Barclays Global Retail Banking division, is a leading global payment business which helps consumers, retailers and businesses to make and accept payments flexibly, and to access short-term credit when needed.

The company is one of the pioneers of new forms of payments and is at the forefront of developing viable contactless and mobile payment schemes for today and cutting edge forms of payment for the future. It also issues credit and charge cards to corporate customers and the UK Government. Barclaycard partners with a wide range of organisations across the globe to offer their customers or members payment options and credit.

In addition to the UK, Barclaycard operates in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle and Far East.

Key facts published in February 2010;
number of UK customers: 10.4m
number of International customers: 10.8m
number of retailer/merchant relationships: 87,000

For further media information, please contact:
Andrew Bond
Barclaycard Press Office
Barclaycard
1234 Pavilion Drive
Northampton
NN4 7SG
01604 251229
www.barclaycard.co.uk