Tap-to-pay services and credit cards are making it easier than ever to leave cash at home. Cash is becoming a less common way for Americans to cover everyday purchases as more people turn to cards and other cashless payment methods. According to a 2026 Pew Research Center survey, just 12 percent of U.S. adults use cash for all or nearly all of their purchases in a typical week, down from 24% in 2015. Meanwhile, 42 percent say they do not make any cash purchases in a typical week. Cash use also varies by income. Pew found that 58% of people in households earning at least $100,000 made no cash purchases during a typical week, compared with 24% of those in lower-income households, WFTV9 reported. Still, cash is not disappearing, as 46% of Americans say they use cash for at least some purchases. The shift comes amid a growing debate over whether small businesses should be required to continue accepting cash, particularly for customers without access to other payment methods.
Business · Economy · Trends
US consumer cash usage continues to decline as digital payments rise
A recent survey indicates that nearly half of Americans now make no cash purchases in a typical week, highlighting a rapid shift toward digital payment methods.
1 sources
Pipeline ingest
3 reads
Positive / Neutral / Negative
1 countries
Related coverage
PAN's pipeline reviewed approximately 1 open sources for this article. No human editor reviewed this article before publication.
