World of Consumer Payment Trends Continues Evolution as Credit Card Usage Falls and Online Payments Surge
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - March 29, 2010) - Though cash remains king in post-recession America, the world of payments continues to change as consumers back off checks and credit cards, debit cards move toward saturation, online payment options proliferate, and contactless payments and mobile payments move closer on the horizon.
Currently, 54% of U.S. adults cite cash as their preferred form of payment, according to market research publisher Packaged Facts in Consumer Payment Trends in the U.S., which relies primarily on data compiled by Experian Simmons' Spring 2009 adult consumer survey. Meanwhile, 68% of American adults have a debit card in their wallet and 67% have a credit card; though only 53% of adults may be considered active credit card users with transactions in the last thirty days.
Fear of the vicious cycle of debt associated with credit cards, in addition to consumer frustration brought on by the aggressive efforts by many credit card companies to squeeze more profits from their customers since the onset of the recession, have resulted in stagnant ownership and fewer transactions. The report reveals that the falling percentage of consumers who have used their credit cards in the last twelve months indicates that more people are keeping their accounts open for emergency purposes only while opting to use the equally convenient -- and still popular -- debit card instead.
More than half of American adults still pay bills with checks due to the security checks offer when sending payments through the mail and because they don't expose consumer accounts to the electronic vulnerabilities that can be exploited by high-tech thieves. Nevertheless, the time-consuming disadvantages of checks appear to be outweighing the advantages, especially as Americans turn increasingly to electronic forms of payment.
"The two minutes required to process a check simply can't compete with the contactless credit cards in development that require two or three seconds to complete a transaction," says Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts.
Online payments are benefiting from the shift toward electronic forms of payment, and in many ways they are also helping to drive that shift. Last year, 27% of U.S. adults -- 61 million people -- paid their bills online, a testament to both the robustness of online payments and how quickly Americans have taken to it as a viable payment option.
Contactless payment has had the fastest deployment of any emerging payments technology. Since mid-2005, leading financial issuers have placed tens of millions of contactless credit and debit cards and devices into the hands of consumers worldwide. The future for contactless payment will be the industry's ability to convince consumers the new payment form improves on existing ones.
Consumer Payment Trends in the U.S. examines consumer payment forms of all kinds, including credit cards, debit cards, gift/prepaid cards, cash, checks, online payment and emerging forms, with a focus on how consumer preferences have changed during the past five years and vis-à-vis the economic downturn and recovery. For further information, please visit:http://www.packagedfacts.com/redirect.asp?progid=77610&productid=2445009
About Packaged Facts -- Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer goods and retailing, foods and beverages, demographics, pet products and services, and financial products. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. To learn more, visit: www.packagedfacts.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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