Payment Method Statistics

When asked their preferred payment type, 43 percent of Americans chose debit cards
compared with 35 percent who preferred credit cards and just 9 percent who preferred
cash, according to a 2014 TSYS online survey of 1,000 consumers who owned both a
debit card and a credit card.1

According to TSYS, credit cards remained the preferred payment method for the same
percentage of people in 2014 and in 2013, but the percentage favoring debit cards fell
from 49 percent in 2013 to 43 percent in 2014.
Plastic is also Americans' top choice for online shopping, with 48 percent in 2014
preferring to use credit cards, 30 percent using debit cards and 12 percent using PayPal.

Besides online spending, credit is the preferred payment for the most people at
department stores, while debit rules at the supermarket and discount stores. Both are
equally popular at gas stations and dine-in restaurants.
Currency is still considered best for quick purchases. In 2014, consumers preferred to
use cash at fast food restaurants and coffee shops.
Americans' reliance on plastic for noncash payments has been growing over the years.
In 2012, 67 percent of consumer and business payments were made with payment
cards, up from 43 percent in 2003, according to the 2013 Federal Reserve Payments
Study. Credit card transactions accounted for 21 percent of the total number of noncash
transactions in 2012, debit cards accounted for 38 percent, ACH 18 percent, checks 15
percent and prepaid cards 7 percent.

One alternative to cash that is gaining popularity is the prepaid card. A 2014 survey by
Mercator Advisory Group found that 56 percent of U.S. adults had bought a prepaid card
in the previous year, up from 53 percent in 2013 and 47 percent in 2012. 5
Prepaid cards have particularly appealed to the younger set. In 2014, 69 percent of
adults between the ages of 18 and 24 had bought a prepaid card in the prior year.
That's up from 59 percent of adults in that age group the year before. 5
Is a cashless future in the cards? A 2013 MasterCard report found that in 2011, cashless
payments made up 66 percent of global spending.9 Consumers in Belgium, France and
Canada used cash the least in 2011, as cashless payments made up 93 percent, 92
percent and 90 percent of payments respectively. In the United States, 80 percent of
payments were cashless in 2011.9
Consumers expect to make fewer cash payments in the future, while also cutting back
on credit and debit card use in favor of other forms of payments. In an Accenture
survey, 66 percent of North Americans said they used cash daily or weekly in 2014
while only 54 percent expected to do so by 2020. 10
Approximately 55 percent of consumers said they used credit cards at least weekly in
2014, but only 52 percent expect to use them that often in 2020. Likewise, 59 percent
of consumers said they used debit cards at least weekly in 2014, but only 53 percent
expect to use them that often in 2020.10
Meanwhile use of digital currency, prepaid gift cards and PayPal are expected rise.