Digital payment types in the United States

Statistics report on which cashless payment methods and brands are used the most in the USA

Digital payment types in the United States

A nation that preferred credit cards for a long time, how does the United States interact with other cashless payments like wallets or BNPL?

This report aims to provide a comparative overview of how different cashless, or digital, payment methods within the U.S. compare against each other. Which payment method do consumers in the country prefer to use either in POS or online shopping? Which brands do they use? And how does the United States deal with potential payment disruptors, such as buy now, pay later, cryptocurrency, or real-time payments?

The main structure of this report focuses on industry-important metrics for each payment method. The metrics are as follows:

  • Adoption and/or penetration;
  • The biggest brands within certain payment methods;
  • User count and/or user demographics;
  • Value of transactions, in domestic currency and/or U.S. dollar;
  • Number of transactions per user.


With those metrics, the following payment methods are discussed:

  1. Credit cards;
  2. Debit cards;
  3. Mobile payments at POS, also called contactless or mobile proximity payments;
  4. Payments in e-commerce, with any device;
  5. Buy now, pay later (BNPL);
  6. Cryptocurrency as a payment method;
  7. Account-to-account (A2A) payments;
  8. Real-time (instant) payments;
  9. (Digital) remittances.


The report, finally, closes off with a chapter on figures that help contextualize digital payments in the country - such as the market size of e-commerce, how many people do not have access to financial services, or the size of cross-border remittances from and towards the country.

The report is designed to be comparable with other "Digital payment types" studies that cover different countries across the world.

Table of contents

Market share

7
  • Premium Statistic Triannual level of cash payments in the U.S. 2015-2018
  • Premium Statistic Annual currency in circulation (CIC) to GDP ratio of the U.S. 2001-2022
  • Premium Statistic Most used in-store (POS) payment methods in the U.S. 2017-2023, with 2027 forecast
  • Premium Forecast Payments at points of sale by type in the U.S. 2024
  • Premium Statistic Most used e-commerce payment methods in the U.S. 2016-2023, with 2027 forecast
  • Premium Forecast Most common online payments by type in the U.S. 2024
  • Premium Statistic Penetration of crypto as a means of payment in selected countries worldwide in 2023

Penetration

8
  • Premium Forecast Penetration rate of credit cards in the United States 2014-2029
  • Premium Forecast Penetration rate of debit cards in the United States 2014-2029
  • Premium Statistic Quarterly adoption of mobile payments at POS in the U.S. 2018-2024
  • Premium Forecast Mobile payments usage by situation in the U.S. 2024
  • Premium Statistic Payment types accepted by all e-commerce vendors in the U.S. in 2022 and 2024
  • Premium Statistic Annual crypto adoption development in the U.S. 2020-2023, by metric
  • Premium Forecast Domestic and cross-border e-commerce revenue share 2023, by country
  • Premium Statistic Quarterly market share of outgoing digital remittances in the U.S. 2016-2024

Biggest brands

8
  • Premium Statistic Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover market share against each other in U.S. 2007-2023
  • Premium Statistic Biggest commercial card issuers in the U.S. 2019-2023, based on purchase volume
  • Premium Forecast Biggest contactless payment brands at POS in the U.S. 2024
  • Premium Forecast Biggest e-commerce payment brands in the U.S. 2024
  • Premium Statistic Biggest buy now, pay later (BNPL) apps in the U.S. 2015-2023, based on downloads
  • Premium Statistic Biggest cryptocurrency wallets in the U.S. 2015-2023, based on downloads
  • Premium Statistic Biggest real-time payments brands worldwide in 2022, based on number of transactions
  • Premium Statistic Quarterly market share of outgoing remittance brands in the U.S. 2011-2024

Users

9
  • Premium Statistic Annual credit card and debit cards issued in the U.S. 2012-2021
  • Premium Statistic Triennial credit card penetration in the U.S. 2011-2024, by demographic
  • Premium Statistic Triennial debit card penetration in the U.S. 2011-2024, by demographic
  • Premium Statistic Apple Pay, Google Pay users for POS in the U.S. 2019-2021, with forecast to 2026
  • Premium Statistic Number of contactless mobile payment users in U.S. 2022, with a 2027 forecast
  • Premium Statistic Top 10 countries worldwide based on number of buy now, pay later (BNPL) users 2022
  • Premium Statistic Buy now, pay later (BNPL) use in the U.S. 2023, by age, gender, income, race
  • Premium Statistic Quarterly number of crypto users in the U.S. 2021-2022
  • Premium Statistic Cryptocurrency use cases in the U.S. 2023, by age, gender, income, race

Transaction value

6
  • Premium Statistic Annual credit card spending in the U.S. 2012-2022
  • Premium Statistic Annual debit card spending in the U.S. 2012-2022
  • Premium Statistic Mobile payment market size in 4 countries in the Americas in 2020, with 2025 forecast
  • Premium Statistic Annual buy now, pay later (BNPL) spending in the U.S. in 2023, with a 2029 forecast
  • Premium Statistic Annual buy now, pay later (BNPL) transaction volume in U.S. 2019-2021, by vertical
  • Premium Statistic Annual value of outgoing and incoming remittance flow in the U.S. 2021, by country

Number of transactions

7
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of credit card transactions in the U.S. 2012-2022, per capita
  • Premium Statistic Size of a credit card transaction in the U.S. 2012-2022, in USD
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of debit card transactions in the U.S. 2012-2022, per capita
  • Premium Statistic Size of a debit card transaction in the U.S. 2012-2022, in USD
  • Premium Statistic Top 10 countries worldwide with highest number of contactless card transactions 2022
  • Premium Statistic Annual buy now, pay later (BNPL) loan number in U.S. 2019-2021
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of real-time payments in the U.S. in 2023, with a 2028 forecast

Miscellaneous

5
  • Premium Statistic Triennial unbanked population share in the U.S. 2011-2024, by demographic
  • Basic Statistic Internet users in the United States 2020-2029
  • Premium Forecast Mobile internet usage reach in the United States 2014-2029
  • Basic Statistic Revenue of the e-commerce industry in the U.S. 2019-2029
  • Premium Statistic Main cross-border online shopping markets in the U.S. 2022, by market share

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