Scheme debit is faring a little better than Eftpos as a payment method of choice in early 2011, with the value of payments growing faster than for the domestic Eftpos scheme for the third month in a row.MWE Consulting noted in its monthly analysis of RBA payments data that "the last few months has seen a rebound in the share of value of purchases made with a scheme debit card. "After trending lower for the second half of 2010, the trend has since reversed."MasterCard noted that growth in spending on scheme debit cards in March 2011 was more than 15 per cent, while growth in spending on Eftpos was around 10 per cent during February (with most of the seemingly large rise explained by the extra business days in the month).By coincidence, Eftpos Australia has kicked off its first paid advertising campaign in recent weeks, to promote Eftpos as a payments option - a campaign funded by the new flow of scheme fees levied on banks.While scheme debit use is picking up, so are payments on American Express and Diners Club cards.MWE noted that credit card balances attributed to bank issuers reporting to APRA dropped by 0.1 per cent over the March 2011 quarter, while other issuers increased balances by 1.2 per cent. The growth in balances for Amex and Diners Club is markedly different to their decline of 0.9 per cent in the value of card balances over calendar 2010 and consistent with the financial reports for the two card-issuers reported earlier this week.