News in Brief

Cash No Longer King for Low Value US Payments

The 2024 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice in the US found payment transactions increasing 46 per month (up seven) but cash use stable (seven per month), and therefore falling as a share of payments. Cash held as a store of value and as a backup payment instrument remained ahead of 2020 numbers.

People under 55 years old used cash for 12% of payments while older people used it for 22%. Cash usage for 18 to 24 year olds has fallen from one in three in 2020 to one in seven now. For the first time in the eight diary surveys conducted since 2016, cash was not the most used payment instrument for payments of $25 or less.