Mobile wallets may be all the buzz, but debit cards were still the most popular of payment method in the U.S. in 2016, according to a recent report by PULSE.
According to the 2017 Debit Issuer Study released earlier this week, debit card transactions were at a record high in 2016, with 23.6 transactions per month per user. This represents a 6% increase since 2015.
As for the mobile wallets, the study found that while people were eager to download the wallets (with Apple Pay being the most popular among the lot), they didn’t use them as much. The report states that combined, Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay accounted for only about 0.25% of U.S. debit transactions.
In a press release this week, Steve Sievert, executive vice president of marketing and brand communications for PULSE, said:
This year’s study confirms that debit remains a core part of the expanding payments landscape, even as new forms of payment emerge… The average consumer now uses their debit card 39% more often than they did in 2010, and for more transactions of lower value, indicating that debit is a fundamental financial tool for their everyday lives.
One comforting finding in the report is that fraud loss rates dropped by 28% in 2016 compared to 2015 levels, all thanks to the installments of card chips. The report indicates that about 80% of cards have been converted to chip cards.
See the full report here.