The amount of money spent by people using their credit cards is set to jump to a new high of €7.6 billion, according to new figures from the main banks.Estimates from the Irish Bankers' Federation (IBF) suggest the value of credit card transactions will rise to €7.6 billion by the end of this year from €6.9 billion at the end of 2002.

The latest figures could add to concerns that some consumers are over-extending themselves. There has been a 20 per cent rise in the number of credit cards since 2000, for example.

However, the IBF cautioned against this and said the amount spent per transaction had remained relatively static over recent years. It also said the Republic still had a "dependence" on cash, which was a far more expensive option for the Irish economy.

The figures are included in its new publication, IBF Facts and Figures 2004. The data is based on returns submitted by the following clearing banks: AIB, Bank of Ireland, National Irish Bank, Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank. Figures from credit card company MBNA were also included.

The data shows a considerable rise in credit card spending since the mid-1990s. In 1995, the value of credit card transactions was just €2.3 billion. This figure had tripled by the end of last year.

Other IBF figures indicate a general shift away from cash- and cheque-based spending. For example, the number of laser cards is now well over one million, while the number of cheques in issue has dropped to 122 million from a high of 157 million in the late 1990s.

The number of credit cards in circulation looks like remaining static for 2003 at 1.8 million. Despite this, people are making more credit card transactions - up to 86 million transactions were paid for by credit card in 2003, up from 75 million the previous year.

The figure would appear to indicate that smaller purchases are increasingly being made via credit card. The average spend per transaction has fallen to €88 from €92 in 2002.

The reliance of banks on automatic teller machines (ATMs) is also clear from the figures, with 1,588 ATMs in the Republic now compared with 1,417 the year before. The IBF welcomed this and said, combined with the credit/laser card trends, it was clear that convenient payments methods were proving popular with Irish consumers.

Despite the broad range of options for accessing their money, Irish consumers appear wedded to their local bank branch. The Republic has 266 bank branches per one million inhabitants. This compares with 226 branches in Sweden, 238 branches in the Netherlands, 252 in Britain and 256 in Greece.

The IBF said Government stamp duty was the main obstacle to greater automation of payments.

"A typical banking customer now pays almost €70 in tax on ATM cards, debit cards, cheques and credit card accounts and these charges accounted for virtually all inflation in financial services charges in 2003, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office," aIBF statement said.