A study conducted by the Federal Reserve to study the consumer’s payments and transactions over three consecutive days in October 2018. The high-level finding are:
- Consumers used cash in 26 percent of transactions, down from 30 percent in 2017
- Debit cards were the most used instrument, accounting for 28 percent of payments
- Credit cards accounted for 23 percent of payments, a 2 percentage point increase from 2017
- Cash was used heavily for small-value payments, representing 49 percent of payments under $10
- The share of cash use among individuals under 25 years old is the highest of any age group
- In-person payments accounted for 73 percent of all transactions. Participants used cash for 35 percent of in-person payments