Federal Reserve: Card payments spark surge in noncash transactions

Americans made a record 236.6 billion noncash payments in 2024, up 31.9 billion from 2021 and marking the largest three-year increase since the Federal Reserve Payments Study began tracking payment activity triennially in 2000. .Card payments sparked the surge, although the less than 5 percent growth rate was less than its previous two three-year reporting periods, according to the Federal Reserve. The total value of noncash payments reached more than $140 trillion in 2024, an increase of $10.37 trillion from 2021. However, the annual growth rate slowed to 2.6 percent, well below the 10.4 percent pace between 2018 and 2021.Card payments continued to dominate by volume, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all noncash transactions in 2024, up from 2021. Despite their widespread use, cards represented just 8 percent of the total value of noncash payments.Credit cards had the strongest growth among all payment types, with transactions rising to 67.1 billion in 2024. It was the first reporting period since 2000 in which credit card payments grew faster than debit card payments, fueled by increased use of general-purpose credit cards.Debit cards remained the most common payment method, totaling 120.6 billion transactions in 2024. However, debit card growth slowed to its weakest pace since the study began, increasing at an annual rate of 4.1 percent from 2021 to 2024. Debit cards accounted for 64 percent of all card payments, down from 68 percent three years earlier.Automated Clearing House payments continued to account for the largest share of payment value. ACH transactions totaled $104.06 trillion in 2024, representing 74 percent of all noncash payment value, although growth slowed from recent years. ACH debit transfers outpaced credit transfers in both number and value growth.Check usage continued its long-term decline. Americans wrote 9.2 billion checks in 2024, down from 11 billion in 2021, while the value of check payments fell to $24.45 trillion. Even as checks became less common, their average value climbed to $2,653, reflecting their rising use for larger-dollar transactions.Cash use also continued to decline. ATM withdrawals fell to 3.4 billion in 2024, while the average withdrawal reached a record $210, up from $134 in 2015.