Are debit cards in decline?

US shoppers still prefer paying by debit card to any other method, but that number is decreasing, according to a new report by TSYS.

43% of 1000 respondents that own both debit and credit cards named debit as their preferred payment method, down from 49% in 2013. The number of people saying that they prefer to pay by credit card remained at 35%.

TSYS suggests that the figures are down to perceptions about security.  “Credit card preference is likely attributable to the fraud and risk concerns of consumers. Eighty-nine percent of respondents felt that it was safe to use their credit card, while that number dropped to 83 percent for debit cards,” said the report.

Online, the numbers are very different. 48% of people prefer credit cards for online purchases, up 7% since last year’s report, while just 30% cited debit cards. PayPal suffered a marked drop of 10% since last year’s report, with just 12% of people saying that this was their preferred method.

When it comes to mobile, data security is also a major concern.

Fraud prevention and risk reduction tools are the most important features to consumers when they consider incorporating mobile into their payments process. When asked about the use of smartphones in conducting different types of payment transactions, we saw that consumers were very interested in taking part in protecting their accounts by using mobile tools to monitor and track payments. We did not see quite as much interest from the respondents in actually using their smartphones to make payments,” said the report.

It added: “We asked our respondents whether, if they were able to use a smartphone to make a payment, they would prefer to scan, tap or push a button on their screen. For now, the most-preferred method of paying appears to be through scanning (bar code, QR code, etc.) with a smartphone or other mobile device, with 21 percent of respondents indicating this as their preference.

 

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