The U.S. is still far from a cashless society, but something important is nonetheless changing in this regard — consumer perception.
Digital payments have a long way to go in the U.S., mainly because checks, particularly in the business world, are still nearly ubiquitous. And when it comes to the retail world, cash is still very much present. There are many restaurants and small shops that still only accept cash, or demand a minimum amount to pay by card.
The rest of the world — Europe, Asia and Canada — seem to be moving towards a cashless society more rapidly than the U.S. These markets tend to have a high use of mobile apps, digital wallets, and contactless payments methods.
But things are changing in the U.S. As banks work on installing realtime payment rails in the next two years, the hope is to replace checks and ACH wires with instant payment transfers between SMBs, corporations and independent contractors. As for the retail market, more people are choosing P2P apps such as Zelle or Venmo over cash, and credit and debit cards remain the most commonly used form of payment.
According to a Bank of America survey released Friday, most Americans — about 58% — believe the country will be a cashless society within their lifetime, and 53% of respondents believe it will happen over the next two decades. A further 11% believe America will be entirely cashless within a year, and 18% believe that will happen in five years.
Of course, P2P payments and mobile banking apps were cited as catalysts for moving the nation in a cashless direction. And indeed, in 3Q this year alone, P2P apps hit record payment volume — bank-backed P2P app Zelle reported it crossed $32 billion in transactions, and PayPal-owned Venmo reported a 78% year-over-year increase to $16.7 billion during that period.
Further, the BofA report shows that currently, 44% of consumers use some kind of P2P app. This represents an 8% increase over the previous year. It’s the same story for mobile banking apps, whose usage has increased YOY since 2015, no surprise there.
It is also no surprise that the largest group of users is the Gen Z audience (78%), which the BofA report defines as those born between 1996-2000. But with 77%, the millennial group (born between 1978-1995) is not far behind. Even the baby boomers (59%) show a high usage of banking apps. The most commonly cited reason across these groups (95% of respondents) for choosing mobile over visiting a branch or ATM is that digital banking saves them time.
This survey was commissioned by BofA and conducted by Convergys Analytics, an independent market research company. It was conducted online nationwide between May 2 and May 8, this year. More than 1,000 people over the age of 18 were surveyed. These respondents were required to own a smartphone and have a checking or savings account.
The full report can be seen here.







