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The cash vs credit card spending statistics below will provide insights into how the US consumer is slowly starting to let go of paper money and substituting it with credit cards.
Top 10 Cash vs Credit Card Spending Statistics and Facts
30% of ecommerce transactions in the USA in 2021 were made with credit or charge cards.
Credit card payments accounted for 28%, while cash payments for 20% of the transactions done in 2021 in the USA.
Credit card transactions account for one out of four small (under $25) in-person purchases in the USA.
49% of US consumers use cash for purchases under $10.
41% of Americans didn’t use cash in their purchases in 2022.
56% of US consumers say they like to carry cash with them when they are outside of their homes.
Americans between 35 and 44 use cash for only 13% of their purchases.
The average American carries $67 in cash on them.
16% of Americans carry cash with them at all times.
The average cash transaction is $22, while the average credit card transaction is $112.
General Cash vs Card Statistics
30% of ecommerce transactions in the USA in 2021 were made with credit or charge cards.
In comparison, credit and charge card payments only account for 21% of ecommerce transactions done globally, which indicates that Americans use credit cards more than the average consumers elsewhere in the world.
A similar discrepancy can be found in point-of-sale transactions as well, as 40% of POS purchases in the US were paid by credit or charge cards, while the global figure is 24%.
On the other hand, the percentage of transactions by cash by country stands at 11% for US POS transactions, which compares to the global figure of 18%.
(WorldPay)
Credit card payments accounted for 28%, while cash payments for 20% of the transactions done in 2021 in the USA.
The most recent Federal Reserve report reveals that neither credit card, nor cash payments, but debit card payments, accounted for the largest portion, or 29%, of all transactions in the USA in 2021. Credit card transactions account for the second largest share, smaller by a single percentage point, at 28%, while cash payments are the third most common choice with 20%.
Furthermore, stats reveal that even though credit vs cash are the main competitors, ACH payments are still a viable option, accounting for 11% of all transactions made in 2021. Finally, 3% of the transactions were done with mobile payments, while the remaining 9% were done using other payment methods.
(The Federal Reserve)
Only 19% of Americans prefer paying for in-person transactions with cash.
In comparison, 32% of US consumers prefer paying their in-person transactions with a credit card, while the largest portion, or 44%, prefer paying them with their debit cards. However, credit card vs cash statistics also show that consumers that prefer credit cards don’t mind the occasional use of cash, unlike cash users who are less likely to change their favorite payment instrument.
Namely, credit card transactions account for 68% of all purchases made by consumers who prefer paying with credit cards, while they pay with cash in 19% of the cases. On the other hand, consumers who prefer paying in cash do so in an equal share of 68% of their transactions, though they use credit cards in only 11% of the cases.
(The Federal Reserve)
Credit card transactions account for one out of four small (under $25) in-person purchases in the USA.
US consumers still prefer using cash over credit cards when it comes to in-person purchases under $25. The stats show that the average American makes 12 purchases under $25 in person per month, and pays in cash for five of them. Three of the remaining seven purchases are paid with credit cards, while four are paid with debit cards.
Interestingly, the stats from 2016 indicate that the number of in-person purchases under $25 paid with cash has decreased significantly, from 11 to five, while credit card transactions are unchanged at three in 2016 and in 2021 as well.
(The Federal Reserve)
49% of US consumers use cash for purchases under $10.
Data on cash vs card payments suggests that cash is still the preferred method of payment for the smallest purchases, with almost half of Americans paying with cash for transactions under $10. In contrast, only 16% of consumers use credit cards for such payments, while debit cards are significantly more popular and used by 35% of consumers.
The stats are slightly different when only considering consumers who own rewards credit cards, but cash remains the most used payment method in that group as well. Specifically, 43% of rewards credit card owners pay for purchases under $10 with cash, 31% with a debit, and 26% with a credit card.
(Credit Cards)
41% of Americans didn’t use cash for their purchases in 2022.
Historical data on cash vs credit card spending reveals that the percentage of US consumers who entirely eliminated the use of cash has grown rapidly in the past few years. For comparison, in 2018, only 29% of Americans lived completely cashless, while in 2015, their share was only 24%.
At the same time, the group of consumers who exclusively use cash to buy things has been decreasing and reached 14% in 2022. The share of people who use cash for all or almost all purchases was 18% in 2018 and 24% in 2015.
(Pew Research)
Demographics of Credit Card vs Cash Users
American households with annual incomes lower than $25,000 use cash for 36% and credit cards for 12% of all their transactions.
Data indicates that US households with lower incomes are more likely to use cash and less likely to use credit cards, while the opposite is true for families with larger incomes. In continuation of the stat above, 24% of the transactions made by families with income between $25,000 and $49,999 are cash, while 20% are credit card payments.
Furthermore, cash vs credit card data shows that families with incomes between $50,000 and $74,999 pay 20% of their transactions in cash and 23% via credit card payments. 19% of the payments of households with incomes between $75,000 and $99,999 are cash, while credit card payments account for 27% of their transactions.
Finally, for families with incomes between $100,000 and $149,999 and over $150,000, cash transactions only account for 15% and 11%, while credit card payments for 34% and 44%, respectively.
(The Federal Reserve)
56% of US consumers say they like to carry cash with them when they are outside of their homes.
Cash vs card statistics show that less than half, or 43% of Americans, are comfortable going out without having cash on them. Data further reveals that the oldest age group of consumers over 65 is the likeliest to carry cash when they are outside, at 73%.
Furthermore, 64% of consumers between 50 and 64 say they always carry cash, while the percentage of consumers in the 30 to 49 age bracket that agree drops to 45%. Finally, 46% of Americans between 18 and 29 say they like to have cash with them when they are outside.
(Gallup)
Americans between 35 and 44 use cash for only 13% of their purchases.
Data on cash vs credit cards usage reveals that consumers from the above age group use cash the least frequently. They are followed by Americans between 25 and 34, who use cash in 16% of their purchases, and the youngest US consumers, aged between 18 and 24, who use cash in 17% of their buys.
20%, or one in every five transactions made by consumers between 45 and 54, is paid in cash, while US seniors, older than 65 pay 24% of their purchases with cash. The most common cash users in the US are consumers between 55 and 64, who prefer using cash over credit cards to pay for more than one-fourth, or 26%, of their purchases.
(The Federal Reserve)
The average American carries $67 in cash on their person.
According to the latest data released by the Federal Reserve, Americans older than 65 carry the largest amounts of cash with them, averaging at $101. Consumers between 55 and 64 are next in line, with an average of $77, followed by Americans between 45 and 54, who carry an average of $57 in cash on them.
Furthermore, consumers between 18 and 24 carry an average of $50, while Americans between 35 and 44, and between 25 and 34, carry the lowest average amount of cash on their person at only $47.
(The Federal Reserve)
Cash vs Credit Cards Fun Facts
16% of Americans carry cash with them at all times.
According to a recent survey, less than one in five Americans always carries cash on their person, while 27% have cash with them most of the time. On the other hand, credit card statistics show that 66.7% of the US population owns at least one credit card.
(Travis Credit Union, Statista)
The average cash transaction is $22, while the average credit card transaction is $112.
The average credit card purchase is $90 higher than the average cash buy, and the average credit card spend per month is $4,874. As a result, the average American debt is on the rise again, as confirmed by the latest credit card debt statistics.
(Experian, Visual Capitalist)
Perks and rewards are the main reason 24.78% of US consumers use credit cards.
In addition, 21.51% of Americans say they use credit cards to improve their credit score, and the latest credit score statistics can confirm that this is a working tactic, as the current average credit score in the US is at an all-time high.
(GO Banking Rates)
The Summary
Credit cards have always been popular in the US, though it is only recently that a larger portion of US consumers stopped carrying cash on their person. However, the stats on cash vs electronic transactions, excluding credit and debit cards, show that Americans are behind other countries in using alternative payment methods, such as mobile wallets and cryptocurrencies.
The USA won’t become a cashless society by merely replacing paper with plastic. It can only reach the standards set by China and the Scandinavian countries by accepting the most modern payment methods.
FAQ
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