BURLINGAME, Calif.—Consumers prefer to pay in person with their debit card over all other payment types, because it is convenient and they see it as “real money.”
But when it comes to security in an environment of data breaches, those same consumers see the credit card as the best option for in-person payments (41%), with debit second (29%) and cash third (25%). Online, credit again is seen as the safest option (46%), while PayPal comes in second (34%) and debit third (20%).
Those are key findings from a recent survey by NextAdvisor.com that asked more than 500 people 18 years and older about their preferred payments methods.
When people pay in person, 42% use debit cards and 38% use credit cards, while only 17% use cash and 3% use checks, the survey reported. Online, the breakdown was 50% credit cards, 30% debit cards and 20% PayPal or similar bank account-linked services.
Looking at payments security from the perspective of those ages 18-24, the study revealed debit cards come out on top with 62% of this group seeing debit as the safest way to pay in person and 43% seeing debit as the most secure method online.
Examining why consumers choose a payment method regardless of age, consumers choose credit most for rewards (46%), cash to prevent overspending (44%) and checks (70%) for the paper trail.