Credit cards benefit from Rudd payment

The cash boost that Australians recently received from prime minister Kevin Rudd has been used by many to help ease the burden of credit card debt, it has been claimed.

A total of A$7.7 billion was given out by the government as part of a plan designed to get the country's economy rolling again.

But while the government may have hoped people would just go out and spend their free money, not everyone is doing so.

Many individuals said they would use their cash to help pay off their overloaded credit cards, Agence France Presse reports.

Others, however, have opted to instead use the money to build up the size of their savings accounts, the news provider claims.

And this move to clear debts may be part of a wider change in attitude toward credit card use in Australia. Executive vice-president of MasterCard Australia Eddie Grober recently confirmed that a fall in credit card usage has been recorded in the country.