2023 Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice

For 2023, the Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment choice found the following: • US consumers made more payments in 2023. o Compared to October 2022, there were statistically significant increases in the number of all payments (to 45.6 on average per month), in the number of all types of card payments (29.5), and in payments via mobile app (13). o The share of purchases made remotely increased to 22 percent, up 4 percentage points from 2022 and more than double the share of remote purchases before the COVID-19 pandemic. • Mobile has won over three-quarters of US consumers. o 72 percent of consumers adopted online or mobile payment accounts like PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App in 2023, a statistically significant increase from 2022. o 70 percent of consumers made a mobile phone or tablet payment at least once in the 12 months ending in October 2023 (also a statistically significant increase). o 73 percent of consumers used mobile banking (another statistically significant increase). • Nevertheless, almost all consumers used cash. o In the prior 30 days, almost 90 percent of consumers used cash. o One-quarter of in-person purchases were made with cash. • More credit cardholders reported paying fees; revolving behavior was stable. o One-third of consumers with credit cards paid fees, a statistically significant increase from 2022. o Compared to 2020, 2021, and 2022, shares of cardholders with unpaid balances (revolvers) were statistically unchanged at just under half. o Revolvers were less likely to report that their balance was lower compared to 2022 (a statistically significant change). Among revolvers, the median unpaid balance was about the same as in 2022 ($2,500 in 2023 and $2,700 in 2022). • By number, most payments were card payments. By value, most payments were made electronically from a bank account. o By number, two-thirds of payments were by card, including 32 percent by credit card and 30 percent by debit card. o By value, 42 percent of payments value was made electronically from a bank account using one of two ACH-authorizing methods. The total value of payments per consumer was $5,382 in October 2023.