Cash or Credit? How Consumers Pay Today
By Community First Financial Advisors
A survey of consumer payment preferences found that credit cards are now used for 35% of all payments, a 17 percentage-point increase since 2016. Consumers are increasingly shopping, paying bills, and making person-to-person payments remotely, and 78% of respondents said they preferred using a credit or debit card even for in-person payments.
Although cash is no longer king, demand for it remains, especially for in-person purchases under $25. The survey found that for small purchases it was equally likely that consumers would choose paying by credit card, debit card, or cash, and 83% of people surveyed said they had used cash in the previous 30 days.
Source: Federal Reserve, 2025
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