Personal credit in vogue pre Xmas

The accumulating signs of a brighter economic outlook in Australia might be doing their bit to generate a revival in a banking product that was otherwise losing its place in the sun.

Usage of credit cards picked up in November 2009, in a break from the long-running but gentle trend over recent years for spending on payment cards to drift toward debit cards.

Analysis of monthly data on payment card use from the Reserve Bank of Australia by MWE Consulting shows that spending increased by four per cent and balances by two per cent in November over October, and was "undoubtedly the most robust credit and charge card result for some time".

The $900 million increase in credit card balances in the month of November, to $46 billion, represents two thirds of the growth in balances in the 12 months to November 2009.

Purchases on debit cards fell by 1.2 per cent in November from October, in a break from the long-running trend.