Federal Reserve Financial Services recently released the 2025 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice, an annual study of U.S. consumers’ payment habits. The findings reveal that amid the increasing digitalization of payments, consumers continue to use and keep cash handy.
As increased credit card usage, remote payments and payments made with a mobile device continued to drive growth in overall payments, cash use remained stable. In 2024, consumers made an average of seven payments per month with cash, a number that has remained unchanged since 2020. Additionally, cash was the third-most-used payment instrument after credit and debit cards, a position it has held for the past five years.
The study also revealed generational and demographic trends in payments. Households earning less than $25,000 per year and adults 55 and older relied more on cash than other cohorts. In contrast, adults aged 18 to 24 were more likely to pay with a mobile phone, using their phones for 45% of all payments.
Other key findings from this nationally representative survey included:
- Consumers made an average of 48 monthly payments in 2024, the continuation of an upward trend that began in 2021.
- In 2024, cash accounted for 14% of all consumer payments by number, while credit and debit cards accounted for 35% and 30% of payments, respectively.
- 23% of purchases and peer-to-peer payments were made remotely in 2024, a share that has increased each year since 2021.
- U.S. consumers made an average of 11 payments per month with a mobile phone in 2024, up from four payments since 2018.
- Cash remains a key backup payment method for U.S. consumers. Of all cash payments in 2024, nearly two-thirds were made by consumers who prefer other payment methods such as debit or credit cards.
- Nearly 80% of U.S. consumers have held cash in their pockets, purses or wallets for at least one day of the month for each Diary survey conducted since 2018. Though the value of these holdings has decreased since 2022, it remained elevated in 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
- More than 90% of U.S. consumers intend to use cash as either a means of payment or store of value in the future.
The Diary of Consumer Payment Choice study, now in its ninth consecutive year, is conducted to understand the payment habits of U.S. consumers, including the evolving role of cash in the U.S. economy.
