Cards to Replace Notes in Our Affections
纸币vs信用卡未来谁主天下
Credit and debit cards are expected to overtake cash this year as Britain's most popular method of payment, according to a new industry report.
根据一份新的行业报告显示：今年，信用卡和借记卡有望取代现金成为英国最流行的付款方式。
It will be the first time that card payments have outstripped cash outlay for goods and services. There are 246 plastic card transactions made every second.
这是购买商品和支付服务费用时银行卡付款方式首次超过现金付款方式，每秒钟有246笔银行卡交易。
Total plastic card use is expected to exceed ￡269bn in 2004, just a whisker ahead of the predicted ￡268bn for cash payments, said a spokesman for the banking industry body the Association for Payment Clearing Services.
银行业机构付款清算服务协会发言人说，2004年使用信用卡进行交易的总额有望超过2，690亿英镑，比预计的现金支付总额 2，680亿英镑稍高一些。
The group, which represents the major banks, said credit cards had become "demonized" as one of the main causes of ballooning debts, but added: "Without plastic, our society would virtually grind to a halt."
这个代表着各主要银行的协会说，信用卡已经成了“魔鬼”，是造成债务激增的主要原因之一，但他们也补充道：“没有信用卡，我们的社会将会停滞不前。”
Last year, the number of plastic cards in use in Britain grew by 13 million, or 9%, to 160 million-the equivalent of 3.5 cards per adult. Two-thirds of card transactions are now made using debit cards.
去年，使用中的英国信用卡数量增加到 1.6亿，增长了1300万，增幅达9%，相当于每个成年人拥有3.5张信用卡。现在，借记卡占银行卡交易的2/3。