Consumer Payments

In October 2023, US consumers reported making 45.6 payments per month on average, an increase over 2022. As a share of all payments by number, most payments were by credit card (32 percent) or debit card (30 percent). By value, 42 percent of payments value was made electronically from a bank account using one of two ACH methods and 37 percent were made using a card (debit, credit, or prepaid).

For 2023, the Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice found the following:

• Mobile has won over three-quarters of US consumers; 72 percent of consumers adopted online or mobile payment accounts like PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App in 2023, a statistically significant increase from 2022.
• Nevertheless, almost all consumers used cash. Almost 90 percent of consumers used cash, and a quarter of in-person purchases were made with cash.
• More credit cardholders reported paying fees, while revolving behavior was stable.
• By number, most payments are card payments. By value, most payments are made electronically from a bank account.

This report for 2023 focuses on the number and shares of payments by transaction type and payment instrument as well as on changes from 2022. A total of 4,579 respondents completed the 2023 survey and diary.