Nearly one-third of U.S. consumers prefer using debit cards to make everyday purchases, and the cards have become almost as popular as cash as a means of payment, a new survey shows.
The survey, commissioned by the American Bankers Association, a trade group, shows that 31 percent of consumers prefer using debit cards for day-to-day purchases, while 37 percent would rather use cash. Credit cards are favored by 18 percent, and 14 percent like writing checks.
"Debit card use has steadily increased, and more retailers are accepting them," said Nessa Feddis, the ABA senior federal counsel, in an interview. "Consumers find debit cards faster and less of a hassle than checks. Whether you're at the CVS or buying a refrigerator, the convenience is there."
Other surveys have shown even greater use of debit and credit cards, but these included purchases of big-ticket items such as appliances or electronics, for which consumers would be unlikely to consider using cash as payment.
Debit cards let customers make purchases without cash, with money drawn from their bank accounts within a few days.
In the ABA survey, the cards were twice as popular among people 18 to 34 years old as among people 55 and older. In contrast, older people preferred checks nearly three times as often as younger people.
Women slightly preferred debit cards to cash, 33 percent to 30 percent, while men favored cash 44 percent to 29 percent.
Feddis said this disparity might result from safety concerns. She said women often carry less cash than men and are more likely to carry it in handbags than on their persons.
According to the Federal Reserve, checks remain the most common form of noncash payment, though their use is waning.
In 2003, checks in 2003 accounted for 36.6 billion, or 45.3 percent, of the 80.9 billion U.S. noncash payments, but that percentage fell from 57.8 percent in 2000. Credit card use rose to 23.4 percent from 21.6 percent, while debit card use surged to 19.3 percent from 11.4 percent.
Checks accounted for $39 trillion, or 59.1 percent, of the $66 trillion of noncash payments in 2003, Fed data show.
The ABA survey of 1,003 consumers was conducted by Ipsos Reid on July 23 and 24. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.
