Americans love their credit cards (for now)

Whether they swipe or insert, Americans have a proven tendency to reach for their credit cards over all other payment options. And it’s not just tactile appeal–credit cards exceed debit cards in usage whether it’s online or in-store. Together, credit and debit cards dominate the market as preferred payment types in the US. In online purchases, eWallets are still trailing behind debit cards. Bank transfers, cash on delivery, and pre-pay show little growth over last year among Americans. So, if you haven’t implemented chip technology yet in your credit union’s credit cards, it would be a wise investment against fraud. Americans don’t appear to be giving up their plastic for quite a while.

Worldpay found that Americans only spent $2,271 per capita using eCommerce, only 20% of which was via mobile wallet. Ecommerce’s compounding annual growth rate is expected to be 9% in the US between 2018 and 2022, aided by a 79% internet penetration rate as of 2018. Point of sale spend per capita, however, was $24,248 with just 3% coming through mobile wallets. POS CAGR is expected to reach 7% between 2018 and 2022.

Americans’ payment habits contrast sharply with other countries. Mobile payments in the US are projected to amount to less than half of eCommerce through 2022. In the UK, however, mobile payments will account for more than half of eCommerce by 2022. Densely populated countries like China and Indonesia are already there. In fact, China’s mobile eCommerce is expected to nearly double desktop by 2022.

 

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