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Consumers give the plastic a lash

Consumers kept their credit and charge card spending in check throughout most of last year, but in December they gave the plastic a lash. According to the latest Reserve Bank data, the value of purchases on credit and charge cards rose by 10.8 per cent in December.The A$24.8 billion spent that month was the highest ever reported by the RBA and represented $1596 per card account.Balances accruing interest also rose - from $34 billion to $34.5 billion. According to MWE Consulting, the average credit and charge card account balance was $3226.The value of debit card transactions rose even more; spending on debit rose 14.2 per cent, to $18.9 billion, in December. This spending represented $497 per account.MWE said the decline in personal lending as a share of total household lending, which has been in progress since 2007, has stopped.

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