Is cash still king? With so many payment options available these days, a new survey uncovers which one people consider the best.
According to the poll of 2-thousand U.S. adults Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Chime, 29% believe that spending cash “doesn’t count” as spending money because it doesn’t decrease their bank account balance. And while there are a lot of different ways to pay, most people still carry cash.
- Only 5% of respondents say they never have cash on them and 35% say having it makes them feel more prepared.
- Despite the stereotype that younger generations prefer digital payments, they’re more likely to carry cash. Only 12% of Gen Zers say they rarely have cash, compared to 24% of baby boomers and 23% of Gen X.
- Younger Americans also prefer to carry more cash, as Gen Z likes to have an average of $82 and millennials like to have $71 on them, compared to Gen X with $57 and baby boomers with $48.
- Men tend to carry more cash than women, around $78, compared to women’s average of $51.
- So, is cash the best of all forms of payment? More than half (52%) of all respondents agree that cash is indeed king, while 25% think it’s dead.
- If Americans could eliminate one form of payment forever, people would rather ditch checks (36%) and credit cards (16%) than cash (12%).
- Two-thirds of those surveyed would rather find a $20 bill in their pocket than get a $20 refund on their credit card (27%).
- Nearly three-quarters (73%) prefer to tip with cash than with a card, while some prefer to use cash for groceries (22%), dining out (20%), gifts or allowances (18%) and for small businesses (17%).
- Still, some Americans worry they’ll drop or lose cash they’re carrying (31%), that it’ll get stolen (26%) or that they’ll spend it too quickly (24%).
- But 64% have been in a situation when they needed cash but didn’t have it and 39% have experienced that within the last month.
Source: SWNS Digital