WASHINGTON–Fewer and fewer people are using cash, with three-in-10 Americans now saying they make no purchases with cash in a typical week, up from a quarter in 2015.
The same research from Pew Research Center also found the share of those who said that all or nearly all of their purchases are made using cash fell to 18% from 24% in 2015.
Meanwhile, in a survey of more than 2,000 Americans, U.S. Bank found 50% of respondents to its Bank Cash Behavior Survey said they carry cash with them less than half of the time they are out. When they do carry cash, 76% said they keep less than $50 on hand and nearly half have less than $20.
As would be expected, Millennials are most likely to ditch cash and coins in favor of credit, debit and digital payments, such as Apple Pay, Venmo and Zelle. Indeed, one-in-10 Millennials use their digital wallet for every purchase, according to a separate report by Experian — especially on food, rent and Uber rides, as CNBC reported.
Overall, 34% of adults under the age of 50 make no purchases in a typical week using cash, compared with 23% of those ages 50 and older, according to the Pew Research Center, which surveyed more than 13,000 adults in September and October of 2018.
Income Plays Role
Also playing a role in cash/debit usage: personal income. Adults with an annual household income of over $75,000 were more than twice as likely as those making less than $30,000 to say they do not make any purchases using cash in a typical week, the research found. Meanwhile, lower-income adults were about four times as likely as higher-income adults to say they make all or almost all of their purchases with cash.
While the reports may indicate the long-awaited “cashless society” is here, the data show cash remains the most frequent method of payment in the U.S. overall, representing approximately 31% of all consumer transactions.