Selected Findings

• More consumers prefer debit cards than any other type of payment for point of sale purchases.

  • This is the first time in the study’s history that debit cards exceeded all other payment devices as the overall preferred payment product. (29% of respondents prefer debit card, whereas 26% prefer credit cards)
  
  

• Consumers appear to be conscientiously and actively managing the payment devices they already own and use.

  • This year’s study shows fewer consumers are adding payment products to their wallets compared to the previous study (31percent versus 56 percent in 2004), and more consumers are eliminating products from their wallets than the previous study (20 percent versus 16 percent in 2004).
  
  

• Proprietary Rewards credit cards have gained in ownership, usage, and preference over Cobrand and Affinity credit cards. Additionally, 80 percent of Reward cardholders are of the highest quality in terms of overall credit risk.

• Credit profiles differ by payment preference group.

  • Consumers who prefer to pay with credit cards are twice as likely to be in the Super Prime risk band compared to consumers who prefer other payment products.
  • However, more than 50 percent of those consumers who prefer cash, check, and debit cards are in the prime and super prime categories, suggesting that preference is driven by choice and not lack of access to credit.