Total UK card spending rose by 8.2 per cent last year to a record £600.3bn; a total of 12.96bn purchases were made by card (or around 35m every day), with consumers spending over £19,000 every second using cards. Food and drink topped spending categories, accounting for £19 in every £100 spent.

Overall, UK card spending accounted for three in every four pounds spent at retailers. Shoppers used debit cards for 77 per cent of purchases. Around 91 per cent of adults (roughly 48.5m people) and 94 per cent of 16-24 year olds hold at least debit card; the average holder has 1.97 cards.

The average debit card holder made 106 purchases last year; just over £4,500 was spent per card, a 10 per cent year-on-year rise. Eight in 10 debit card holders used their card at least once a month, while 50 per cent used their card several times weekly.

Just over 31m – around 60 per cent of the UK adult population – people have a credit card. Older generations are more likely to hold one, with around three-fifths of card holders in the UK aged over 45.

In total, there were over 159m payment cards in circulation in the UK at the end of last year, comprised 95.7m debit cards, 56.9m credit cards and 6.4m charge cards. There are also 19.9m ATM-only cards.

The report follows the release of a study by the UK Payments Council, suggesting that non-cash payments exceeded cash payments for the first time ever last year.