Australians Prefer To Spend Their Own Money Rather Than Depend On Credit

Many Australians are now getting wary on incurring debt on their credit cards despite the general confidence of consumers regarding their bank transaction and fees. Economists have acquired valuable information from the Reserve Bank of Australia regarding the increased usage of credit cards with a 6.05 percent rise in February. The total value of transactions using credit and charge banks have shown a substantial amount of increase.
By February, the average account balance of credit cards rose by 1.9 percent up to $3,250. This figure is higher than the previous year with an increase of 3.29 percent. The recent findings of economists on the rising confidence of consumers may be in part due to the robustness of the Australian economy. However, the growth of credit cards are significantly behind.

The last few weeks, the RBA has announced a couple of interest rates hike in 2010. Despite this, Australians are still pretty confident about the country’s economic growth. This was the finding reported by the Westpac-Melbourne Institute, which conducted a consumer sentiment survey for the month of April. This is confirmed when you look at the average credit card balance and find the confidence of consumers slightly noticeable.

The said balance is beginning to increase very gradually, looking at a 12 month performance. However, it is still apparent that consumers are still exercising caution. On the other hand, debit cards spending has overtaken that of credit cards. This only explains that consumers prefer to spend their own money rather than depend on credit. This is very obvious in the new statistics showing debit cards use increasing by more than 30 percent in the last 12 months. This is very high compared to the 6.69 percent rise with credit cards usage.

Consumers are favoring the double features offered by debit scheme cards, which are primarily being able to use your money while having access to credit card. When it comes to these tow cards, namely debit or credit card, Australians seem to choose the former. Rather than borrowing, practical Aussies are spending the money they already have. The financial crisis of 2008 has clearly left a mark on the behavior of the people especially in spending for basic goods and services. Many people have changed their past attitude of spending more than they have earned and relying more on credit to maintain an expensive lifestyle.

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