APACS has described the achievement as another strong indication of how the UK is rapidly becoming a plastic, not cash, payment society. The development comes less than 20 months after the association announced that spending on plastic had overtaken cash for the first time ever.
The speed and convenience of making payments on plastic, together with the ease of chip and PIN (which the point of sale, or POS, terminals facilitate), means people are more willing to use plastic cards for the purchase of everyday goods and services, APACS argues.
Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, says: More and more retailers are realising the benefits of providing their customers with the option to pay by card. Similarly, the speed, convenience and enhanced security of plastic means people are far more willing to use plastic.
As a result we have noticed a significant increase in the number of non-traditional outlets accepting cards, as is evidenced by the installation of Britain’s millionth POS terminal at the Duke of Uke (music shop).
