Cash Is Still King-ish

In this new digital world we live in, you’d think that electronic payments would be be more prevalent, and that we’d get to a point where we could get rid of the penny, yet a new survey by the Boston Fed shows that most of us pay using our debit cards, and then by paying with cash. Credit cards take third place, followed by checks, and then finally, electronic payments. Via Quoctrung Bui’s great graphic from Planet Money, the percentages of the total share of payments:

• Debit: 31%
• Cash: 29%
• Credit: 18%
• Check: 11%
• Electronic: 9%
• Money Order: 1%
• Other: 1%

Are there people who prefer to pay for things in cash? Yes, my mother is one. She says she prefers to spend money she knows she has, and she’s more aware of what she’s spending every time a dollar leaves her purse.

Photo: CasparGirl

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