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The latest Federal Reserve figures show how Americans and U.S. businesses use noncash payments, how consumers report using wallets and instant payments, and where fraud risks are emerging. They do not provide 75 verified statistics about online checkout: most measure all payment contexts or survey respondents’ reported use, not online transactions alone. The figures below are U.S.-specific, and each is labeled by its population, measure, and data year.
What these payment statistics do—and do not—measure
“Online payments” can mean purchases made on a website or app, but many widely cited payment statistics count something broader: all noncash transfers, consumer payments in any setting, survey respondents who used a method, or activity on one payment service. Those measures answer different questions and should not be read as online-checkout market shares.
The Federal Reserve’s latest triennial payments-study release, published July 1, 2026, reports initial findings for U.S. noncash payments in 2024. Other figures below come from consumer surveys conducted in 2024 or 2025, a 2025 institutional risk survey, or the FedNow service’s own transaction statistics. Publication year is not necessarily the year the activity occurred.
How many noncash payments were made in the U.S.?
The Federal Reserve’s initial findings from its 2025 triennial payments study estimate that U.S. consumers and businesses made 236.6 billion noncash payments in 2024—more than three times the number in 2000. This total includes payment contexts beyond online shopping, so it is not a count of e-commerce transactions.
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| Measure | 2024 U.S. finding | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Noncash payments by number | 236.6 billion | Payments made by consumers and businesses; not online-only. |
| Cards’ share by number | Over three-quarters | Cards led by transaction count. |
| ACH share by value | Almost three-quarters | ACH led by total dollar value; value is not the same as number of payments. |
Debit remained the majority of card payments. Credit-card payments grew faster than debit-card payments for the first time in almost a decade. Check payments and ATM cash withdrawals fell in both number and value. The study draws on voluntary data from depository institutions, card networks, and major payment processors; the Federal Reserve described the July 2026 release as initial findings.
What payment methods do U.S. consumers report using?
Two Federal Reserve consumer studies provide useful but distinct snapshots. The 2026 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice asked participants in October 2025 to report payments over a three-day period, along with cash holdings and preferences. Its payment-use findings cover consumer payments generally, not just online purchases.
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| 2025 Diary finding | Reported result |
|---|---|
| Most-used payment mix | Debit and credit cards together accounted for two-thirds of consumer payments; cash was the third-most-used instrument for the sixth consecutive year. |
| Cash carried | 76% of consumers carried cash, averaging $69 in their pocket, purse, or wallet. |
| Cash stored elsewhere | 45% held cash elsewhere, averaging $364. |
| Recent cash use and plans | Four in five had used cash in the previous 30 days, and 90% said they planned to continue using it. |
The Diary also found that 38% of respondents preferred credit cards for in-person payments in 2025, up from 24% in 2016 and close to the 40% who preferred debit cards. Preference is not the same as actual transaction share. Cash reliance was higher among households with annual income below $25,000, adults aged 55 and older, and rural residents. Rural consumers averaged nine cash payments per month, compared with six among suburban and urban consumers.
How common are digital wallets and instant payments?
The Federal Reserve Payments Insights Consumer Payments Study reports the share of surveyed consumers who said they used each method in the prior 12 months. These are respondent-use rates, not each method’s share of transactions or payment value.
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| Payment method | Consumers reporting use | Survey period and interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | 78% | 2024 survey; used during the previous 12 months. |
| Credit cards | 70% | 2024 survey; used during the previous 12 months. |
| Digital wallets | 58% | 2024 survey; used during the previous 12 months. |
| ACH | 54% | 2024 survey; used during the previous 12 months. |
| Instant payments | 5% | 2024 survey; used during the previous 12 months. |
Instant payments and buy-now-pay-later were newly included in the 2024 survey, so it does not establish comparable year-over-year adoption trends for those options. The report describes different use cases, including adding money to wallets, paying utility bills the same day, financing larger purchases in installments, and receiving payroll instantly. Separately, 75% of Gen Z respondents said it was at least somewhat important that their primary financial institution offer instant payments.
What FedNow statistics say about instant-payment activity
Federal Reserve Financial Services reported 8,413,402 FedNow settled customer credit transfers in calendar 2025, with a settled value of $853,411,108,511. Its statistics page, updated July 6, 2026, also reported the following quarterly totals:
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| Period | FedNow settled customer credit transfers |
|---|---|
| 2026 Q1 | 2,728,510 |
| 2026 Q2 | 4,997,811 |
These counts cover settled customer credit transfers on FedNow only, with calendar days used in the service’s reporting. They show activity on that service, not all U.S. instant payments, consumer adoption, or online purchase volume.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do U.S. payment-fraud figures show?
Two Federal Reserve sources measure different sides of fraud. The 2026 Risk Officer Report summarizes a fourth-quarter 2025 survey of more than 400 financial-institution risk professionals. Its percentages describe institutional reports and estimates, not the percentage of consumers who experienced fraud.
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| Institutional risk finding | Survey result |
|---|---|
| Institutions reporting check-fraud attempts in the preceding year | 63% |
| Institutions reporting debit-card fraud attempts | 75% |
| Institutions reporting debit-card fraud losses | 56% |
| Estimated share of institutions’ payment-fraud losses attributed to debit-card fraud | 40% |
| Institutions affected by account takeover | 23%, a 7% year-over-year increase |
The report describes impersonation, social engineering, and credential compromise as evolving tactics. It also identifies scams and business-email compromise in wire and ACH fraud patterns.
A separate Federal Reserve household report, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025: Banking, reflects adults’ own reports. Two in ten adults said they experienced financial fraud or scams involving their money in 2025, including 16% who reported credit-card fraud. Among adults reporting non-credit-card fraud, debit cards and peer-to-peer payments were commonly named methods. Respondents could select multiple payment methods.
| Payment method involved in non-credit-card fraud | Median loss before recovery |
|---|---|
| Debit card | $300 |
| Peer-to-peer payment service | $500 |
| Bank wire or other electronic transfer | $2,000 |
| Cryptocurrency | $1,200 |
These are median losses among adults who lost money to the specified type of non-credit-card fraud, before recovery—not average losses across all users of those payment methods. The household report also cautions that its online survey may overrepresent people who are more connected to technology. Its findings should not be combined with the institutional risk survey as though both measured one fraud rate.
How to use these statistics when choosing or evaluating a payment method
No single figure establishes a universally best payment option. The relevant comparison depends on the question being asked and the evidence available:
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems- Transaction count versus dollar value: cards led U.S. noncash payments by count in 2024, while ACH handled almost three-quarters of their value.
- Reported use versus transaction share: the consumer study’s wallet and instant-payment percentages count respondents who reported use, not the share of purchases paid that way.
- In-person versus online: the Diary’s payment preferences and cash findings describe consumer payments broadly; they do not establish online checkout preferences.
- One service versus a payment category: FedNow totals cover that service’s settled customer credit transfers, not every instant-payment rail.
- Exposure versus consumer loss: institution-reported fraud attempts and losses answer a different question from adults’ reported fraud experiences and recovered losses.
For a specific online business or country, these national and service-level figures are context rather than a direct forecast. A valid online-checkout comparison would need data that identifies the transaction setting, geography, time period, and whether it measures consumer adoption, transaction count, transaction value, or fraud incidence.
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