2024 Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice: Summary Results

May 12, 2025

Photo portrait of Kevin Foster
Kevin Foster Survey Director
Photo portrait of Claire Greene
Claire Greene Center Director
Photo portrait of Joanna Stavins
Joanna Stavins Boston Fed
illustration of three dollar bills speeding together to the right

May 2025

For 2024, the Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice found that compared to October 2023, there were statistically significant increases in the number of all payments (an increase of about two payments, or 6 percent, to 48 on average per consumer per month) and in the number of credit card or charge payments (also increased about two payments, to 17). The average value per consumer per month of all payments also increased significantly from $5,382 to $6,867 per month, up 28 percent. The average payment dollar value was $142, an increase of 21 percent from 2023.

Download the report

JEL Classifications: D12, D14, E42

https://doi.org/10.29338/rdr2025-01

Keywords: cash, checks, checking accounts, debit cards, credit cards, prepaid cards, electronic payments, payment preferences, unbanked, Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, Diary of Consumer Payment Choice

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  • Compared to October 2023, there were statistically significant increases in the number of all payments (increased about two payments, or 6 percent, to 48 on average per consumer per month) and in the number of credit card or charge payments (also increased about two payments, to 17).
  • The average value per consumer per month of all payments also increased significantly from $5,382 to $6,867 per month, up 28 percent.
  • The average payment dollar value was $142, an increase of 21 percent from 2023.
  • Paying with cash in the prior 30 days declined from 87 percent of consumers in 2023 to 83 percent in 2024.
  • Making a check payment in the prior 30 days declined from 40 percent of consumers to 35 percent.

Results

Public Use Data Sets

Day-level data sets:
Each row of these data sets contains one diary-day per respondent.

Individual-level data sets:
Each row of these data sets contains one respondent's observations.

Transaction-level data sets:
Each row of these data sets contains one transaction for its unit of observation.

Additional Resources

Outside Resources

Send data questions to Survey Director Kevin Foster.

To see older Surveys and Diaries of Consumer Payment Choice, please see the archived material at Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Researchicon denoting destination link is offsite (FRASER).

Related

Research and Data

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