Debit card payments have overtaken cash for the first time in what is being hailed as a "milestone" in the development of the digital economy.

A British Retail Consortium survey found that for the first time more than half of retail purchases in the UK are made by card and new technology such as contactless payments means more transactions are now made by debit cards than cash.

The report found there were 10.3 billion retail transactions made on a debit, credit or charge card across the UK in 2016, accounting for 54% of all retail payments.

The average value of card payments has fallen from £30.53 in 2013 to £25.40 in 2016, indicating cards are increasingly being used for lower-value transactions.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said Scotland's retailers had substantially invested in methods to make shopping and paying easier.

He said: "The availability of contactless methods of payment, self-service tills and online sales has increased the use of debit cards in particular for smaller payments, eclipsing the use of cash for the first time in terms of the volume of retail purchases.

"This is a milestone in the development of our digital economy, with customers embracing digital shopping whether online or on the high street, and with retailers adapting to meet the demand with great services."