2021 Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice

In October 2021, US consumers reported making 36 payments per month on average, up about one payment from 2020. As a share of all payments by number, most payments were by debit card (29 percent) or credit card (28 percent).

Consumers reported changes in their behavior during the pandemic year of 2020. The share of consumers making at least one online purchase in a typical month increased from 59 percent in 2019 to 66 percent in 2020. The share making at least one mobile phone payment in the prior 12 months increased from 38 percent in 2019 to 46 percent in 2020. Also, more consumers reported making at least one payment to another person in a typical month, 52 percent, up from 48 percent.

For 2021, the Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice found the following:

• The total value of payments, around $4,800, increased 10 percent from 2020, a change that is not statistically significant.
• Most changes in the number and value of payments by payment instrument (paper, card, electronically from a bank account) were not statistically significant, except for the decline in the number of check payments from 2.3 per month in 2020 to 1.5 in 2021 and the increase in the total dollar value of debit card payments from $516 to $811 ($288).
• Two-thirds of consumers reported that they had adopted an online payment account, for example, PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle, a statistically significant increase from 61 percent in 2020.
• One-third of consumers reported that they had been offered to make a purchase using buy now, pay later in the prior 30 days.
• Ownership of crypto assets doubled to 9 percent of US consumers.