Credit card transactions rise

Payments made on credit cards rose by two per cent in September.

Australians' transactions on credit cards saw a two per cent increase in value in September, according to new data.

While August saw $18.869 billion spend on credit and charge cards, the figure shifted upwards to $19.246 billion the next month.

The average credit card Aussie increased purchases on these cards by 1.9 per cent and cash advantages also saw a 0.7 per cent rise.

But Australians also made higher repayments to their bank or card provider, with these transactions going up by 3.5 per cent to hit $19.602 billion.

The figures were revealed by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Advice for avoiding a high card fee and debt was recently given by Chris Whitehead, the chief executive of Credit Union Australia.

He told the Australian Associated Press that people should be careful when taking out new card to pay for Christmas as they may suffer when the interest free period ends.

Mr Whitehead urged borrowers to make sure they could clear their credit card bill each month.

By Emma North