周一作,翻,阅黄Key.doc

PAGE PAGE 9 I Reading Credit and debit cards are expected to overtake cash this year as Britains most popular method of payment, according to a new industry report. It will be the first time that card payments have outstripped cash outlay for goods and services. There are 246 plastic card transactions made every second. Total plastic card use is expected to exceed ￡269 billion in 2004, just a whisker ahead of the predicted ￡268 billion for Cash payments, said banking industry body the Association for Payment Clearing Services. The group, which represents the major banks, said credit cards had become demonized (魔鬼化) as one of the main causes of ballooning debts, but added: Without plastic, our society would virtually stop. Last year, the number of plastic cards in use in Britain grew by 13 million, or 9%, to 160 million the equivalent of 3.5 cards per adult. Two-thirds of card transactions are now made using debit cards. Plastic accounted for ￡244 billion of spending in 2003. This year, total plastic card use, if business card usage is included, is expected to top ￡269 billion. In 2005 it is expected that personal plastic card usage alone will overtake cash payments, said Apacs. In terms of numbers of transactions, cash will remain much bigger than plastic for some time to come, it added. Cash will always remain there for low-value payments. Meanwhile, 2003 was the year that e-commerce came of age in the UK. More than 18 million people bought goods or services online, up 50% on 2002. Credit cards accounted for 69% of the 200 million transactions, with debit cards mopping up most of the remainder. Last year was a landmark year for another reason the first reduction in card fraud for eight years. Fraud losses on plastic cards fell by 5% to ￡402 million as measures to combat crooks started to lake effect. A new generation of cards containing computer chips is being introduced, and by the end of this year most people making face-to-face purchases