Brits 'will spend £53bn on Christmas 2007'

As much as £53 billion is expected to be spent by British consumers over Christmas, according to one personal finance organisation.

The UK payments association Apacs has stated that while such a sum is set to be spent on Christmas goods and gifts, 64.3 per cent of it will be spent using plastic cards for help with money.

Meanwhile, as much as ten per cent of the debt built up over Christmas is set to result from online spending.

Plastic card use is forecast to increase, according to the association, reaching in excess of £34 billion over the course of December.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at Apacs, said: "Whether buying the turkey or stocking fillers, we're most likely to be using our debit card to pay for them this Christmas, continuing the ongoing trend of pulling out the debit card in preference to our credit cards, cash or cheques."

In related money news, personal finance product provider Lloyds TSB has released research indicating that consumers in the UK may need more help with money as they are due to overspend by a collective £4.7 billion this year.