Reserve Bank figures show Australian banks pulled in $12 billion in fees in 2014, with credit cards bringing the strongest growth.

Bank fee totals were up 2.8 per cent from the previous year, but the RBA says it is not because the fees are higher.

Rather, the RBA’s new report says consumers and businesses are using credit cards more and more.

Households paid $4.2 billion in bank fees, an average of about $9.01 per week.

Income fees on mortgages and deposits dipped from its 2013 level, but income from credit cards was up almost 6 per cent.

The RBA found this was due to the rising number of credit cards being issued.

The Australian Bankers' Association’s figures suggest there were 119,000 more credit card accounts in 2014, and credit card spending rose by 7 per cent to $281 billion.

Some credit card fees were up, such as those for foreign exchange conversions.

More than two-thirds of the $12 billion earned by the banks in 2014 come from business fees, the highest proportion ever recorded.

Credit card fees also emerged as a key driver of growth in the business sector.

Fees reportedly made up 39.5 per cent of bank profits in 2014, continuing a downward trend in in fee-to-profit ratio since the GFC.

Fees as a proportion of bank assets, income and profits are now at a record low.