The credit card is 40 this week

"Outstanding borrowing on credit cards in the UK currently stands at £56bn, up sharply from just £14bn ten years ago.

But credit card debt has been falling since the start of the year because their use has been tailing off in favour of debit cards.

So maybe the 40th anniversary of the appearance of the credit card here may mark the high-water point of its popularity with the shopping public."