There has been an increase in the use of debit and credit cards, third-quarter statistics reveal.

More people may have been spending on their credit cards balance during the last quarter if new figures are anything to go by.

According to figures released by the Payments Council, the amount of purchases made with plastic rose throughout the 3 months.

Figures from the UK Cards Association, Link, Bacs, Cheque and Credit Clearing Company and Chaps show that there have been no significant changed to the way debit and credit cards are being used, despite the tough economical times.

According to the Payments Council, this form of payment – which could have been used with a 0% purchases credit card term – rose throughout the period.

In fact, there was a 6.9% hike in card usage, in addition to the value of purchases made, which also increased by 4.3 percent.

Although credit card spending by value reduced by 0.7%, the number of sales increased by 2.5 percent.

Furthermore, gross lending on this form of plastic – including products with a 0% balance transfer – was 7.5 percent lower than the previous quarter.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications for the Payments Council commented on the findings, saying they reflect stability in the use of plastic, even though reports of some commentators have suggested people turn to their credit cards in tough economic circumstances.

"These statistics confirm what has been a trend for a couple of years," she said.

"Spending on credit cards has remained relatively unchanged and interestingly we are still repaying proportionately more of our debt than we were three years ago," Ms Quinn added.

According to Adrian Coles, director general of BSA, the emerging trends of paying off debts was prompted by the low base rate set by the Bank of England.

He spoke to the Telegraph, noting the lack of an incentive to save when the base rate stands at 0.5 percent.

As a result, there has been a decline in the savings balances in UK accounts, Mr Coles said.