People in Scotland have been the most affected by the economic downturn, according the latest research published by PayPoint, the UK’s leading cash and internet payments company.

In research carried out for PayPoint by YouGov in November 2008, less than a third of people (31 per cent) living in Scotland feel the economic slowdown hasn’t affected the way they buy things. By contrast, 42 per cent of Londoners and 40 per cent of Northerners feel their buying behaviour is unaffected by the slowdown.

Women have changed their buying behaviour more than men as a result of the slowdown (70 per cent of women against 54 per cent of men), perhaps reflecting the relative inequality in incomes between men and women as well as the greater number of single parent households headed by women. Or that men are more inclined to bury their head in the sand.

One result of the slowdown has been a shift from paying with plastic in favour of cash. Again, the Scots lead the trend, with 26 per cent using cash to pay for goods and services more today than a year ago. Only 20 per cent of Londoners, 19 per cent in the Midlands, Wales and the rest of the South, and 18 per cent of Northerners are using cash more often.

On the other hand, more young people aged between 18 and 24 are using plastic more that they did a year ago – 30 per cent – compared with 19 per cent of those over 55 and 20 per cent of those between 35 and 44.

“Young people may be storing up trouble for themselves,” warns Peter Brooker, Head of Corporate Affairs at PayPoint, “by racking up higher and higher debts on their credit cards, which they might not be able to pay back. Even much as worrying, only 10.9 per cent of this age group have had their credit card limit reduced, compared with 14.7 per cent of the 35-44 and 12.5 per cent of the over-55s. 

“Luckily, young people are far less likely to have a credit card – 36 per cent – than other age groups.”

Among people turning to cash, more Southerners (39 per cent) are worried about falling into debt than elsewhere in the country, while Londoners cite having reached their credit/debit card limits (24 per cent). Those in the Midlands & Wales are the most ambivalent about debt levels (28 per cent) – or is that the most irresponsible?

Despite being less concerned about debt, people in the Midlands and Wales are averse to fees charged by banks (20 per cent), while Northerners appear to be the least concerned (12 per cent). Young people between 18 and 24 are most put off by charges levied by the banks (38 per cent).

“The credit crunch, economic downturn and widespread job losses have undoubtedly had an impact on people’s spending habits. Not just how much they spend, but how they spend it,” added Peter Brooker. “Overall, people in the Midlands and Wales seem to be taking a responsible approach, with more turning to cash to manage their spending more effectively (69 per cent) and far fewer maxing out on their credit cards – 2 per cent against 24 per cent of Londoners – which could explain why they are still less concerned about their debt level.

“The most worrying aspect of the research is the attitude of young people who are continuing to rack up debts on their credit cards (at least, those who have them) and could well be storing up problems for themselves later as the economic crisis bites deeper. People who take a more careful approach and stick to cash – so spending only what they have – will emerge from the recession better able to recover financially.”

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Enquiries:
PayPoint Press Office
0207 100 9999
paypoint@mischiefpr.com

Notes to Editors

About the research
All figures are from YouGov PLC. Total sample size was 1,973 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 7th and 10th November 2008. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (age 18+).

About PayPoint

PayPoint is the leading cash and internet payments company in the UK and Ireland.  It handles in excess of £8 billion from over 515 million transactions annually for 6,000 clients and merchants. The company operates with several payment networks:

• The PayPoint retail network numbers over 20,750 terminals located in local shops (including Co-op, Spar, Costcutter, Sainsburys Local, One Stop, Londis, Somerfield and thousands of independents) in all parts of the UK and Ireland. Terminals handle gas and electricity meter prepayments, cash bill payments, mobile phone top-ups, transport tickets, BBC TV licences and a wide variety of other payment types for all of the leading utilities, telecommunications suppliers and many consumer service companies. This network is used by consumers, free of charge, over 9 million times a week.  The network has 98.9% population cover on a 1 mile urban or 5 miles rural measure;
• Additional multiple retailer connections via retailers’ electronic till systems in the UK, including BP and Superdrug, for mobile top-ups and selected payments from the PayPoint range;
• The PayPoint ATM network has 2,150 ‘LINK’ branded machines across the UK, also typically in convenience stores;
• PayPoint.net provides secure credit and debit card payments for over 5,100 web merchants linking into all the major UK acquiring banks; and 
• PayPoint International, which operates bill payment and top-up services in Ireland and Romania. PayStore in Romania now has 4,700 terminal outlets including 1,200 PayPoint branded sites for the new bill payment service.

PayPoint plc (PAY:LSE) floated on the London Stock Exchange in September 2004. PayPoint is widely recognised for its leadership in prepayment systems, smart technology and consumer service.