Nearly half of U.S. adults (49%) say cash is king for purchases under $10, according to a CreditCards.com report released today.
Even among rewards credit cardholders, 43% say cash is their go-to payment method while 31% favor debit and a mere 26% prefer credit.
The most popular reasons rewards cardholders are more inclined to pay with cash or debit: it’s easier or quicker (40%), concerns about credit card debt (24%), stores having credit card minimums or fees for small purchases (14%), no incentive to (11%) or it’s rude (5%).
While the biggest inconvenience with using credit cards for small purchases is the speed of transaction, only 39% of rewards credit cardholders have used a mobile payments service and 14% have used a contactless card.
Millennial rewards cardholders are more likely to use a mobile payments service (61%) or contactless credit cards (25%) than other generations.
More than half (53%) of American rewards cardholders claim they don’t have any contactless cards and 22% are not sure.
Sixty-five percent of rewards cardholders who pay with cash because credit isn't fast enough have never used mobile payments and 64% haven’t used contactless cards.