There’s been a step-change in the way we are buying our goods and there’s a chance you could be missing out.
Online Spending Increases
Research by the UK Cards Association reveals that online spending has grown immensely with 30% of all debit and credit card spending in January being conducted over the internet. £15.4bn of the total value of £48.8bn was spent in this way. However, this equated to just 12.3% of total card purchases or 118 million of the total 1.05bn, meaning that people are still using their cards more in shops but are spending more on each online transaction than in-store.
It’s not surprising when you factor in the growth in the number of mobile devices and smartphones that people are using in the UK.
Earlier figures from the ‘This is money’ website showed that three-quarters of people in Britain shop online, more than half (53%) bank online and people living in the UK and Denmark are the most likely in the European Union to shop via the internet.
They add that since 2006 the number of people accessing the internet every day has doubled to 32 million, with a two million increase between 2013 and 2014 alone.
Financial Exclusion
If you don’t have a basic bank account of course, you’re prevented from joining this online spending revolution. There may be various reasons why you may not have a bank account and therefore a credit or debit card – perhaps you are a temporary worker or a migrant worker who has recently arrived in the country, an ex-pat, have a poor credit history or are bankrupt and you have had problems opening a bank account – but there are alternatives available to you if you are in that category.
Having a Suits Me® card allows temporary workers without a basic bank account to shop online as it is a Mastercard® debit card which gives the user access to 24 million outlets worldwide. It also offers cashback in certain high street stores.
If you’re a temporary worker and would like to know more about Suits Me®, or if you’re an agency and would like to provide your workers with Suits Me® membership as a benefit for your employees, then you can visit www.suitsmecard.com or contact us on hello@suitsmecard.com.
Written By: Abigail Kemp
