Full text of Research Data Reports : Estimating Population Means in the 2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, Research Data Report No. 15-2

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

No. 15-2

Estimating Population Means in the 2012 Survey of
Consumer Payment Choice
Marcin Hitczenko
Abstract:
This paper examines the extent to which the addition of newly recruited respondents to a
longitudinal panel in the 2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice affects population estimates.
The new respondents were specifically targeted to fill segments of the U.S. population that tend to
be underbanked and underrepresented in the longitudinal panel. We discuss key differences
between the longitudinal panelists and the new members and how those differences could affect
certain population estimates. We look at a collection of 54 variables and find that changes in
estimates of most variables are not significant. As expected, there is evidence that the improved
coverage of individuals who are young, low income, or members of a minority population leads to
lower estimates of certain variables most closely related to ownership and use of traditional
banking accounts.
JEL Classifications: C83
Keywords: raking, coverage, American Life Panel
Marcin Hitczenko is a survey methodologist and a member of the Consumer Payments Research Center in the research
department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. His e-mail address is marcin.hitczenko@bos.frb.org.
This paper, which may be revised, is available on the web site of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston at
http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/rdr/index.htm.
The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Federal
Reserve Bank of Boston or the Federal Reserve System.

This version: April 20, 2015

1

Introduction

This report examines the effect of adding newly recruited respondents to a longitudinal panel on estimates of population parameters in the 2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice (SCPC). The SCPC is
administered annually by the Consumer Payment Research Center (CPRC) to study trends in the adoption and use of payment instruments among U.S. consumers (Foster et al. 2011; Foster, Schuh, and Zhang
2013; Schuh and Stavins 2014). Because detecting changes in consumer behavior is a primary interest, the
CPRC has focused on preserving a longitudinal component to the annual cohort of respondents. Longitudinal studies, as opposed to repeated cross-sectional ones, increase the statistical power to ascertain
trends by removing sampling variability attributed to the selection of individuals (Baltagi 2008; Duncan
and Kalton 1987; Frees 2004; Lynn 2009).
In 2012, as part of a process to launch and integrate a consumer payments diary with the SCPC,
the sample size of the SCPC was increased from around 2,000 to more than 3,000 individuals. As a
result, the survey was administered not only to the longitudinal panel, but also to a set of newly recruited
respondents. In many ways, the new respondents have fundamentally different characteristics from the
ongoing respondents. To minimize confounding sources of change to annual estimates when making
comparisons across years, the official 2012 publication was based on the longitudinal panel only (Schuh
and Stavins 2014). The goal of this research data report is to present estimates based on all available
responses and evaluate the effect of the additional panelists on these estimates.
The paper is arranged as follows. Section 2 provides a brief overview of our findings. Details of sample
selection into the SCPC and a comparison of respondent characteristics are featured in Section 3. Section
4 discusses the adopted methodology for generating population estimates, and Section 5 compares the
estimates to those of the official report. Finally, Section 6 provides a discussion of the implications for
future work.

2

Summary of Results

As detailed below, the new SCPC respondents in 2012 were generally chosen to fill underrepresented
demographic groups in the longitudinal panel. As such, the new individuals tend to be younger, more
likely to come from households with lower incomes, and more likely to represent minority groups, especially Hispanic ones. Many of these respondents were recruited by targeted sampling of ZIP codes with

1

particularly high proportions of lower-income and minority groups. These individuals likely represent
heretofore unobserved subpopulations in the SCPC.
Perhaps the most obvious expectation is that the new respondents are more likely than the longitudinal panelists to include consumers who are classified as unbanked or underbanked. The unbanked are
defined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as individuals who do not have an account
with a federally insured institution, while the underbanked are those who do, but also rely on nonbank
services. The 2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households found that almost
8 percent of households in the United States are unbanked and 20 percent are underbanked (Burhouse
et al. 2014; FRB Kansas City). The highest rates of being unbanked or underbanked occurred in young,
lower-income, Hispanic households, similar to the type of households more heavily featured among new
respondents.
This group of individuals has unique payment tendencies, and its inclusion in a sample is likely to
affect population estimates of variables relating to these tendencies. Indeed, as would be expected with
better coverage of the underbanked, estimates based on the full sample show lower adoption rates of
bank accounts and, most notably, lower adoption rates of payments associated with such accounts, such
as checks, debit cards, online banking, and bank account number payments. Naturally, differences in
adoption lead to differences in the frequency of use. However, even when considering the mean number
of monthly uses for payment instrument adopters only, we find that the payment instruments most closely
tied with bank accounts are used less frequently. We also observe relatively weak evidence of lower cash
holdings on person, lower value of prepaid card reloadings, and higher use of mobile banking.
For most variables, however, there is little evidence of substantial differences in the estimates based
on the two samples.1 Consequently, estimates derived from the 2008–2012 longitudinal panel are generally reliable and particularly useful when making comparisons across years. Nevertheless, the improved
coverage with respect to the socio-economic spectrum causes estimates based on the full sample to be
more accurate. Therefore, we recommend using data from the full sample for the best estimates of population levels in 2012. A complete set of 2012 SCPC tables with estimates based on the full sample and the
longitudinal panel accompanies this paper.
1

A discussion of the sources of these differences is given in Section 4.

2

3

2012 SCPC Composition

All respondents to the SCPC in a given year are recruited from RAND’s American Life Panel (ALP), an
internet cohort of individuals aged 18 and over. A complete history of the ALP and its applications in
surveys can be found at www.rand.org/alp. In many ways, the development of the annual SCPC cohort
mirrors that of the ALP. Below, we provide a background of how respondents were chosen for the SCPC
in each year and discuss how the 2012 sampling methodology influenced the composition of the SCPC
respondents in that year.
The inaugural SCPC, administered in the Fall of 2008, planned for a sample size of 1,000 respondents.
Due to limitations of the ALP size, achieving this required a virtual census of the 1,113 individuals in
the ALP. In 2009, growth of the ALP and a desire for more statistical power saw the SCPC add around
1,000 respondents. The desired minimum number of annual responses remained at 2,000 from 2009 to
2011. In each year, in order to maximize the size of the longitudinal panel, an invitation to participate in
the SCPC was extended to everyone who had participated in the previous years. Approximately 85 to 90
percent of prior participants agreed to do so, so it was not necessary to recruit many new respondents to
compensate for attrition. Table 1 shows the number of respondents in each year grouped by the extent of
prior experience with the SCPC.
Year
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

Repeat from previous year
0
876
1913
1801
1926

Repeat from other years
0
0
0
14
97

New to SCPC
1010
1293
167
318
1111

Total
1010
2169
2102
2151
3176

Table 1: Composition of annual SCPC cohorts by experience.

In 2012, the CPRC developed the Diary of Consumer Payment Choice (DCPC), which asks respondents to track detailed information about spending and cash flow for three consecutive days. The DCPC,
which includes data about the merchant, dollar value, and payment instrument used for every payment,
naturally pairs with the SCPC to provide a deeper understanding of each individual’s choices.

2

There-

fore, the primary goal was to generate a sample of individuals representative of the U.S. population of
adults to whom both the SCPC and the DCPC would be administered. Representativeness was assessed
2

A report on the 2012 DCPC and its results is due to be published by the CPRC in 2015.

3

via a comparison of the sample composition to U.S. population levels with respect to 15 strata defined by
age, race, and household income. Thus, the CPRC determined the necessary composition of a subset of
the roughly 4,500 individuals available in the ALP so that the expected set of individuals who agreed to
complete the surveys was of size 2,500 and matched U.S. population proportions for the chosen strata.
A second goal was to preserve the longitudinal aspect of the SCPC respondents. In the interest of
producing this effect, as many individuals who had taken the SCPC in the past as possible were used
to fill the quotas for the dual survey cohort, with a priority put on the 1,801 who had taken it in 2011.
Finally, to complete the panel, all remaining individuals who had taken the SCPC in the past were asked
to participate in the SCPC, but not the DCPC. As shown in the sixth row of Table 1, the result is a sample
of 3,176 respondents in 2012, of whom 1,111 were first-time takers. In this paper, we consider population
estimates based on the full set of respondents as well as estimates based on the longitudinal subset of
2,065.
Unlike in the previous two years, the number of new respondents in 2012 is sizeable, constituting
roughly one-third of all 2012 respondents. By design, these new individuals were chosen to fill demographic gaps in the longitudinal panel, at least with respect to the 15 designated strata. As a result, the
new respondents are markedly different from the longitudinal panelists. From 2011 to 2012, RAND made
a concerted effort to improve coverage of the ALP. Up to that point, most ALP members had been recruited from other pre-existing cohorts, most notably the Monthly Survey of the University of Michigan’s
Survey Research Center (SRC). However, starting in 2011, RAND relied on address-based sampling in
ZIP codes with high percentages of Hispanics and low-income households. This set of recruits is referred
to by RAND as the “Vulnerable Population Cohort,” so called because it includes individuals who are not
well integrated into certain aspects of society. Of the longitudinal panelists, 84 percent were originally recruited via contact with a member of a pre-existing cohort, and only 6 percent came from the Vulnerable
Population Cohort. By contrast, of the new members, the corresponding proportions are 9 percent and 80
percent.
With respect to demographic variables, there are several key differences between the longitudinal
panel and the new respondents. For example, the average age of the new respondents is 44 compared to 51
for the longitudinal panelists, with 21 percent of the former under 30, as opposed to only 11 percent of the
latter. The new respondents also tend to come from households with lower incomes. The median income
for new respondents lies in the $35,000–$39,999 range, while that for panelists lies in the $50,000–$59,999

4

range. Perhaps the most pronounced difference relates to the racial composition of the two groups. Of
the panel, 7 percent consider themselves to be Hispanic, whereas of the new members this fraction is 29
percent. The targeting of the Vulnerable Population Cohort also narrowed the geographic locations of
respondents. Over 50 percent of the new respondents come from New York, California, and Texas, with
about 20 percent coming from each of the latter. Only 23 percent of longitudinal panelists come from this
set of three states.
The overall effect of the new additions is that the full cohort seems to better match the U.S. population than the longitudinal panel. Table 2 shows the marginal population proportions based on the CPS
for several marginal demographic groups, as well as the sample proportions for the full panel and the
longitudinal panel. With respect to age and race, the full panel is uniformly closer to the true population
benchmarks. In income by household size, there is some variation, although the full panel better matches
the population in eight out of 11 designated strata. In terms of education, it seems that the full sample
is a better reflection of the population, although the difference between the two is relatively small. Interestingly, the new panelists are more likely to be female, as evidenced by the fact that the full sample is
skewed further from gender levels in the population than the original panel.

5

Age

Demographics
18–32
33–43
44–54
55–64
65+

CPS
26.8
18.7
20.4
16.3
17.7

Full
20.5
17.3
22.1
22.9
17.2

Longitudinal
15.6
15.0
23.4
26.0
20.0

HH Size, Income

1,
1,
1,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3+,
3+,
3+,
3+,

< $30K
$30K − $59K
> $60K
< $30K
$30K − $59K
$60K − $99K
> $100K
< $30K
$30K − $59K
$60K − $99K
> $100K

7.6
4.1
2.6
9.4
10.4
7.8
6.4
12.2
13.8
13.0
12.6

8.8
6.5
4.1
7.2
11.7
9.7
7.9
11.9
12.9
10.5
8.8

7.6
7.4
4.5
5.4
12.0
11.1
10.0
9.1
10.8
11.5
10.7

Education

HS or Less
Some College
Bachelor’s or More

42.9
28.8
28.3

20.5
38.4
41.0

18.6
36.8
44.6

Race

White

66.4

70.1

81.3

Gender

Male

48.1

41.3

43.6

Table 2: Population proportions from the Current Population Survey (CPS) as well as corresponding proportions
in the full and longitudinal panels. Bold numbers represent closer matches to the CPS.

Other than differences in demographic composition, there are at least two less-obvious distinctions
between the new panelists and the longitudinal panelists. The first relates to the method of recruitment.
While members recruited prior to 2012 were predominantly volunteers and had a history of participation
in a variety of surveys, those recruited in 2012 were contacted at random via mail and, in some instances,
follow-up phone calls. Selection biases related to recruitment type could lead to different characteristics
among the two groups. For example, the large fraction of females in the Vulnerable Population Cohort
might be a result of recruitment methods. Propensity to select individuals with other, less well defined
characteristics, such as enthusiasm for surveys or household role, could also be linked to recruitment
strategies. A second key difference relates to experience with the SCPC. Longitudinal panelists have taken
the survey as many as five times, which could lead to a better understanding of concepts being asked or
more attention being paid to purchasing habits, thus producing different tendencies in the responses.
In the following section, we describe in more detail how differences in panel composition can lead to

6

different estimates of population parameters.

4

Generating Population Estimates

In this section, we begin by broadly describing the poststratification methodology adopted to generate
population parameter estimates from a nonprobability sample. More details are found in Appendix A.
We also discuss how an expansion of the sample can affect the estimates, focusing on expected changes
in the 2012 SCPC.
Consider µ to be some population parameter of interest. In the context of the SCPC, it might represent
the adoption rate of a payment instrument or the average number of monthly payments made with a
particular instrument. Poststratification essentially involves breaking the population of interest down
into S disjoint strata, which we index with s = 1, . . . , S. If f [s] represents the proportion of the population
that belongs to stratum s and µs represents the mean within stratum s, then
µ =

S
X

f [s]µs .

s=1

A natural estimate then takes the form
µ̂ =

S
X

f [s]µ̂s ,

(1)

s=1

where µ̂s is a sample-based estimator of µs .
In cases where all strata have ample representation in the sample, the simplest form for the estimate
µ̂s is the sample average of all individuals in stratum s. However, if stratum has few or even no representatives in the sample, it is necessary to estimate stratum mean by smoothing data from other strata. For
example, data from observed, similar strata can be pooled to generate an estimate. To produce weights,
RAND relies on a raking algorithm, which determines the weights according to known marginal distributions within the population of a set of chosen demographic variables and the observed sample composition (Deming and Stephan 1940; Gelman and Lu 2003). RAND generates weights based on the 31
marginal groups shown in Table 3. Population proportions are generated from the Current Population
Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, administered in March of 2012 (CPS). The result is 660
unique strata. Two sets of estimates are generated according to different sets of weights: one for the full
panel and one for the longitudinal panel.

7

M, 18 − 32
F, 18 − 32

Gender × Age
M, 33 − 43 M, 44 − 54 M, 55 − 64
F, 33 − 43
F, 44 − 54
F, 55 − 64

M, 65+
F, 65+

Gender × Ethnicity
M, White M, Other
F, White
F, Other
M, High School or Less
F, High School or Less
Single, < $30K
Couple, < $30K
≥ 3 , < $30K

Gender × Education
M, Some College M, Bachelor’s Degree or More
F, Some College
F, Bachelor’s Degree or More

Household Size × Household Income
Single, $30K − $59K
Single, ≥ 60K
Couple, $30K − $59K Couple,$60K − $99K Couple, ≥ $100K
≥ 3 , $30K − $59K
≥ 3 ,$60K − $99K
≥ 3 , ≥ $100K

Table 3: The set of weighting variables. “M” stands for male, and “F” stands for female. The highest income
brackets for single households were combined to avoid small cell sizes.

The infusion of a unique subset of the population into an existing panel potentially changes the coverage within and across strata. By including individuals into previously unobserved strata, estimates for
each such stratum place less weight on observations from other strata, as the sample provides direct insight into stratum behavior. The less an estimate is based on smoothing across strata, the less likely that it
is masking unobserved heterogeneity in behavior. Of the 660 strata defined by the CPRC, the longitudinal
panel features 217 unobserved strata, while the full panel reduces this to 123. The improvement in this
type of coverage is a direct result of the targeted nature of the recruiting done by the CPRC. Similarly,
different coverage within a stratum affects the population estimate by affecting the stratum estimate, µ̂s .
There is an implicit assumption of exchangeability among individuals of the same stratum, but if new
members of a stratum show systematic differences from the rest, estimates may differ based on the subset
used to estimate the stratum mean. While having different levels of coverage does not necessarily imply
having more accurate estimates, it does imply changes in the estimates.

5

Results: Details

A key statistical question is to what extent any observed differences in the estimates are due to changes
in coverage and to what extent they might be due to sampling variation. Conceptually, we are interested
in assessing how consistent the estimate based on the longitudinal panel is with that based on the full

8

sample. Under a fixed sampling strategy, the addition of new respondents would not change the expected
value of a population estimate. Of course, variability associated with sampling makes it so that each
particular iteration of the estimate will be different. Estimates based on each sample and the differences
between the two estimates for all survey variables included in the official 2012 release (Schuh and Stavins
2014) can be found in 2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice: A Comparison of the Longitudinal
Panel to the Full Sample (FRB Boston).
In this section, we provide analysis for 54 variables central to understanding consumer payment
choice. The statistical theory behind the tests and p-values are found in Appendix A. Results are presented in tables grouped by different payment concepts in Sections 5.1–5.4, with the corresponding table
or tables in the official release shown in parentheses. The tables provide the point estimates based on
each sample, along with the difference and the estimated p-value for several key variables in the SCPC.
In addition, the tables include distributions for estimates associated with each sample.3
In the tables, there are several small p-values, although it is important to remember that with 54 tests,
we run into the problem of multiple comparisons.4 Added complications come from the fact that the
hypothesis tests are not independent. Some tested variables are aggregates of others. Also, adoption of
an instrument is necessary for its use, and the adoption of one payment-related variable may be heavily
correlated with the adoption of another. For example, the adoption of a checking account is necessary
for the adoption of checks and debit cards. Similarly, access to online or mobile technology is naturally
a prerequisite to making online payments. As a result, it is useful to consider not only the extent of
statistical evidence, but also whether the perceived differences have a natural economic interpretation.

5.1

Ownership and Adoption of Accounts

This subsection discusses current ownership of accounts and account access technologies, as shown in
Tables 4 and 5 of this report (Table 1 of the 2012 SCPC Tables). It also discusses current adoption of
payment instruments, as shown in Table 6 of this report (Table 6 of the 2012 SCPC Tables).
The most striking differences are observed in the adoption of payment instruments. Specifically, the
three that most obviously satisfy this are the adoption of checks, credit cards, and online banking bill
3

Perhaps the most natural way of interpreting the plots is to consider them to be posterior distributions of µ conditional on
the relevant subset of responses, as approximated with a Normal distribution with uninformative priors for both location and
scale parameters.
4
The probability of attaining a significant result increases as the number of hypothesis tests increases, even if all null hypotheses are true. See Miller (1981) for details.

9

payment, all of which have p-values of 0.01 or less. For all three of these instruments, the results suggest
that the newly added respondents have significantly lower adoption rates leading to a lower population
estimates, with estimates based on the full sample ranging from about 3 to 5 percent lower than those
based on the longitudinal panel.
At least a part of this change can be attributed to declines of at least 1 percent in estimates of adoption
rates of checking, savings, or online accounts. Although the associated p-values are not low, the consistency of the direction of change suggests that the observed changes may be real, but with insufficient
power to reject the hypothesis that the differences are due to sampling variability.

5.2

Payments in a Typical Month

The tables discussed in this subsection are Table 7 in this report (Table 28 in the 2012 SCPC Tables) and
Table 8 in this report (Table 27 in the 2012 SCPC Tables). These are labelled “Number of Transactions”
and “Payments in a Typical Month per Adopter” for Tables 7 and 8, respectively.
There is little evidence that the estimate of the total number of payments based on the full sample differs significantly from the estimate based on the longitudinal panel. However, with regard to payments
made by the type of transaction, the estimates based on the full sample are lower for all types of transactions except in-person payments for retail and services. The largest changes relate to bill payments,
with the estimated total number of bill payments decreasing by 1.2 payments per month. A decrease in
the estimates of the number of monthly online payments and automatic bill payments is consistent with
lower adoption rates of checking and online accounts.
Lower adoption rates of payment instruments or account types will naturally affect consumers’ frequency of use of these instruments. Thus, we consider the number of uses per adopter to adjust for the
different adoption rates between the two samples. The use of check, credit, and bank account numberbased payments (OBBP, BANP) also show signs of being less frequently used even among those who
adopt those instruments. The estimates for check and credit decrease by 0.75 and 1 payment per month,
respectively, both of which are economically meaningful differences.

5.3

Cash and Prepaid Card Use

This subsection discusses prepaid card use and reloadings, shown in Table 9 of this report (Table 13 in the
2012 SCPC Tables), and cash holdings and cash withdrawals, shown in Table 10 of this report (Tables 13

10

and 15 of the 2012 SCPC Tables).
No overwhelming evidence exists to suggest that the addition of the new respondents significantly
alters the estimates of variables related to the use of prepaid cards and cash. However, variables that
relate to dollar amounts are highly variable, so it is possible that the sample sizes simply do not afford us
the power to distinguish real changes from natural variation. Most notably, the mean value of estimates
of cash holdings on person are lower by around $10 when based on the full sample. Similarly, the dollar
value per prepaid card reloading is estimated to be around 20 percent lower using the full sample than
with the longitudinal panel. These changes, if real, are perhaps driven by better representation of lowincome individuals.

5.4

Mobile Banking

The tables discussed in this subsection are Table 5 in this report (Table 1 in the 2012 SCPC Tables) and Table
11 in this report (Table 19 in the 2012 SCPC Tables). These are labelled “Current Ownership of Accounts
and Account Access Technologies” (Table 5) and “ Mobile Banking and Mobile Payments” (Table 11).
Estimates based on the full sample reveal a higher percentage of the population making use of mobile
banking, with an increase of 2.2 percentage points. This is predominantly driven by increased use of
bill pay with a mobile phone and a higher likelihood of checking a balance or recent transactions using
a mobile phone. The latter is likely driven by the fact that low-income individuals need to be better
informed of their financial standing before making purchases. Increased reliance on mobile phones may
relate to less access to traditional and online banking services among the new respondents.

6

Discussion

Overall, the above analysis above suggests that for a vast majority of variables, the two estimates are similar and show no evidence of a difference due to anything beyond chance. It seems that in many respects
the panel relied on for estimates in the 2008–2012 SCPC provides adequate estimates for the U.S. population as a whole, at least as compared with the full sample. Nevertheless, there are several key differences
between the newly sampled individuals and the longitudinal panelists that result in meaningful changes
in population estimates. These differences are most striking in the adoption and use of checks, credit
cards, and online banking. It is possible that the inclusion of new panelists better represents a particular
class of the underbanked, who might not rely on certain types of account-based instruments as much as

11

they do on others, despite having access to some of these instruments.
In terms of determining parameter estimates for 2012, there is little reason to avoid using the full
sample of 2012 responses. These estimates are not only based on a larger number of respondents, but
seem to improve the population coverage of the sample considerably. To quantify this, we can consider
the relative efficiency of the two estimators:
Eff(F, L) =

Var[µ̂F ]
,
Var[µ̂L ]

(2)

where the subscript “F” denotes estimates based on the full sample and the subscript “L” denotes those
based on the longitudinal cohort only. In general, the variance of an estimator is proportional to the
inverse of the sample size. Therefore, an estimate based on a sample of size 3,176 would be expected
to have a variance about one-third smaller than one based on a sample of size 2,065 (corresponding to
a relative efficiency of 0.65). Using the strata defined above, the variances of the estimates based on the
full sample are anywhere from 40 to 55 percent smaller than those based on the longitudinal panel only
(relative efficiencies range from around 0.45 to 0.60). This suggests a greater improvement in efficiency
than would normally be expected from the increased sample size. It seems likely that this is due to
improved coverage of various strata, leading to less uncertainty about the behaviors of certain subsets
of the population. Overall, the targeted recruiting into the ALP by RAND and the sampling strategy of
the CPRC seem to have improved the quality of the population parameters by improving coverage of
important subpopulations.
The results of this work illustrate that it is important to have good coverage across the entire socioeconomic spectrum to generate accurate population estimates. Heterogeneity in payment behavior across
age, income, and race means that poor sample coverage may lead to relatively biased estimates of certain
variables. Therefore, the development of sampling strategies that yield good coverage of the population
is key to improving the quality of insight in future renditions of the SCPC.
The conclusions in this work are based on one particular analysis that relies on certain key assumptions. Alternatively, one could define the strata in different ways, either through different levels and
combinations of the same variables or through the use of different demographic variables altogether. Different forms for the estimator are sure to give different estimates, and doing so might shed more light
into the extent to which the two samples differ. Model-based approaches and further study of individual
strata could lead to insight into which demographic groups are driving any of the differences observed.

12

Such work can hopefully lead to better understanding of the pockets of heterogeneity within the population, thereby providing insight into which demographic groups should be well sampled and used for
post-survey adjustments.

13

Checking account

Savings account

Online account

Amazon

Full
Mean

Long.
Mean

90.1

91.4

74.4

52.5

14.2

75.8

53.5

14.4

Difference

p-value

-1.30

0.14

-1.50

-1.00

-0.20

Plot

0.88

0.91

0.94

0.72

0.75

0.79

0.49

0.53

0.58

0.16

0.34

0.74
0.12

Google

Paypal

2.7

48.0

3.0

49.0

-0.3

-1.0

0.14

0.17

0.34
0.02

0.03

0.05

0.45

0.48

0.53

0.33

Table 4: Current Ownership of Accounts. Black, solid curves correspond to the full sample.

14

ATM card

Full
Mean

Long.
Mean

82.8

83.6

Difference

p-value

-0.9

0.35

Plot

0.8

Telephone banking

31.5

31.6

-0.1

70.1

72.0

-1.9

38.0

35.8

2.2

27.1

28.7

-1.5

93.8

94.8

-1.1

53.1

52.7

0.4

0.76

0.37

0.41

0.28

0.32

0.02
0.92

Smart phone

0.71

0.08
0.25

Mobile phone adoption

0.35

0.03
0.32

Tablet adoption

0.32

0.07
0.67

Mobile banking

0.87

0.96
0.28

Online banking

0.83

0.94

0.96

0.69
0.49

0.53

0.56

Table 5: Current Ownership of Account Access Technologies. Black, solid curves correspond to the full sample.

15

Cash

Full
Mean

Long.
Mean

100

100

Difference

p-value

-0.1

0.36

Plot

1

Check

82.8

85.4

-2.6

23.5

21.7

1.9

Debit

Prepaid

68.7

78.0

52.2

72.1

78.5

52.3

-3.3

OBBP

Income

61.9

51.6

15.8

62.7

55.3

16.4

0.89

-0.5

-0.2

-0.8

-3.8

-0.7

0.23

0.26

<0.01
0.66

0.7

0.76

0.75

0.78

0.82

0.58

0.89
0.49

BANP

0.84

0.08
0.18

Credit

1

0.01
0.8

Money order

1

0.52

0.56

0.43
0.59

0.62

0.67

0.49

0.53

0.59

0.14

0.16

0.19

<0.01

0.36

Table 6: Current Adoption of Payment Instruments. “BANP” represents “bank account number payment,” and
“OBBP” represents “online banking bill payments.” Black, solid curves correspond to the full sample.

16

Full Mean

Total

Automatic bill payments

Online bill payments

In person bill payments

Retail and services: online

67.3

5.78

6.29

8.68

3.70

Long.
Mean
68.9

6.10

6.68

9.17

4.09

Difference

p-value

-1.61

0.17

-0.33

-0.39

-0.49

-0.39

Plot

64.4

68.2

73

5.2

5.9

6.8

5.8

6.5

7.4

8

8.9

10.1

0.10

0.04

0.02

0.04
3.3

Retail and services: in person

P2P: online

P2P: in person

39.63

0.84

2.43

39.58

0.88

2.46

0.05

-0.04

-0.03

3.9

4.8

0.95
36.9

39.6

42.2

0.7

0.9

1.1

0.49

0.79
2.1

2.4

2.8

Table 7: Number of Transactions. “P2P” represents “person to person.” Black, solid curves correspond to the full
sample.

17

Cash

Full
Mean

Long.
Mean

Difference

p-value

19.00

18.48

0.52

0.33

Plot

16.9

Check

Money order

Credit

Debit

Prepaid

BANP

5.78

0.50

13.87

20.73

0.97

3.06

6.51

0.50

14.86

20.69

0.91

3.26

-0.73

0.00

-0.99

0.05

0.06

-0.19

Income

2.94

0.50

3.21

0.55

-0.27

-0.05

20.4

<0.01
6.5

7.4

8.4

1.1

2.2

3.5

18.5

20.6

23

0.98

0.03

0.93
24.2

26.7

29.1

1.1

1.8

2.4

0.64

0.03
4.8

OBBP

18.9

5.3

5.9

0.01
5.1

5.8

6.7

2.9

3.6

4.3

0.17

Table 8: Payments in a Typical Month per Adopter. “BANP” represents “bank account number payment,” and
“OBBP” represents “online banking bill payments.” Black, solid curves correspond to the full sample.

18

Number per adopter

Full
Mean

Long.
Mean

2.86

2.79

Difference

p-value

0.07

0.68

Plot

2.4

Percent reloading

12.6

11.8

0.8

166.83

204.85

-38.02

1.58

1.40

0.18

0.12

185.8

314

0.26
1

1.5

Table 9: Prepaid Card Use and Reloadings. Black, solid curves correspond to the full sample.

19

0.14

0.18
95.7

Number of reloads per month

3.3

0.26
0.09

Dollar amount per reloading

2.8

1.9

Cash holdings

Full
Mean

Long.
Mean

Difference

p-value

424.45

463.67

-39.22

0.42

Plot

270

Cash on person

62.78

73.45

-10.65

373.51

401.12

-27.60

635.88

674.85

-38.97

130.98

131.76

-0.77

6.18

6.52

-0.34

387.3

655.4

806.1

131.4

146.6

0.27
5.5

6.3

Table 10: Cash Holdings and Cash Withdrawals. Black, solid curves correspond to the full sample.

20

598.8

0.86
116.9

Withdrawals

92.3

0.28
543.6

Amount per withdrawal

68.1

0.58
203.5

Cash withdrawals per month

657.3

0.01
53.3

Cash on property

444.1

7.6

Full
Mean

Long.
Mean

Mobile banking app
installed

22.5

22.3

Check balance or recent transactions with
mobile phone

32.1

Bill pay with mobile

18.4

Difference

p-value

0.2

0.85

Plot

0.19

Receive a text message
alert from your bank

17.7

Transfer money between two accounts
with mobile phone

19.0

30.0

2.1

16.3

2.2

17.0

0.6

18.2

0.8

0.22

0.26

0.04
0.26

0.31

0.35

0.13

0.17

0.21

0.14

0.17

0.2

0.15

0.19

0.21

0.01

0.49

0.38

Table 11: Mobile Banking and Mobile Payments. Black, solid curves correspond to the full sample.

A

Appendix A

Here, we describe in more detail the methodology used to generate and compare estimates for population
parameters under the two samples. For each stratum, s = 1, . . . , 660, we let f [s] represent the proportion
of U.S. adults that belong in stratum s. Under the raking procedure, the estimate in (1), under the full
sample, can be represented as
µ̂F

=

S
X

w[s]µ̂s ,

s=1

where w[s] represents the weight given to stratum s and µ̂s will be the sample average of all responses
P
from stratum s. For simplicity of notation, we assume that Ss=1 w[s] = 1. The strata not represented in the
sample will have w[s] = 0, with that weight redistributed to strata with observations. Then, δF [s] = w[s]−
f [s] represents the discrepancy in weights based on the full sample. A similar value, δL [s] = v[s] − f [s],

21

can be computed for the longitudinal panel, where v[s] has a similar interpretation as w[s], but for the
strata weights based on the longitudinal panel only.
Figure 1 displays histograms of δF [s] and δL [s], which by construction have an average of 0. The plots
show that the deviations for the weights based on the full sample are more tightly distributed around 0
and the standard deviation of these differences is roughly two-thirds of that for the longitudinal panel. In
short, the addition of the new respondents does help the weighted sample proportions better represent the
true population proportions. In the context of raking, better matching in weights means less smoothing
necessary to generate appropriate strata estimates. It also allows dispensing of weights more uniformly
among respondents, limiting the number of influential data points.
Strata Weight Differences: Longitudinal Panel Only
800

600

400

Std. Dev. =9.95e−4
200

0
−0.008

−0.006

−0.004

−0.002

0.000

0.002

0.004

0.002

0.004

Difference: CPS− Longitudinal Panel

Strata Weight Differences: Full Sample
800

600

400

200

Std. Dev. =1.47e−3

0
−0.008

−0.006

−0.004

−0.002

0.000

Difference: CPS−Full Panel

Figure 1: Histograms of δL [s] and δF [s] for the 2012 SCPC.

We rely on the methodologies used by the CPRC to compare the estimates based on the two cohorts by
calculating p-values for the observed statistics. We consider µ̂F and µ̂L to be two particular realizations of
the random variables µ̂∗F and µ̂∗L . To define these random variables, it is necessary to define which aspects
of the statistic-generating process we are conditioning on. In this case, for simplicity, we assume that the
demographic information of all sampled respondents, at least with respect to the 31 variables in Table 3,
is fixed. This means that the strata count and, as a result, the poststratification weights, are held constant.
All variation in estimates is thus assumed to come from differing responses and not from different sample
compositions.
22

A natural measure of consistency is a p-value of the form
Prob(|µ̂∗F − µ̂∗L | ≥ |µ̂F − µ̂L |).

(3)

Equation (3) quantifies the long-run probability that the difference in the two generated estimates is
greater than the difference in the observed values in the 2012 SCPC.
In order to evaluate (3), it is necessary to define the distribution of dˆ∗ = µ̂∗F − µ̂∗L . Perhaps the simplest
approach with a sufficiently large sample size is a Normal distribution approximation, such that
dˆ∗ ∼ Normal(µ̂F − µ̂L , σ̂d2 ),
where σ̂d2 is an estimate of the standard error of the statistic. The specific form is
σ̂d2 = Var[µ̂∗F ] + Var[µ̂∗L ] − 2Cov[µ̂∗F , µ̂∗L ].

(4)

The term in (4) is estimated via Huber-White estimators (Eicker 1967; Huber 1967; White 1980), which are
naturally generated through the use of the SURVEYMEANS procedure in SAS (SAS Institute Inc. 1999).
First, we introduce some notation. We let N represent the total number of respondents in the full sample,
with each indexed by i = 1, . . . , N . Then, we can re-express each estimate in terms of individual-level
weights determined through the raking algorithm. Thus, for the full sample, the estimate in (1) can be
written as
µ̂F

=

N
X

(5)

wi Yi ,

i=1

where wi is the weight given to individual i and Yi is the response given by individual i. Therefore, if
nF [s] represents the number of individuals from stratum s in the full sample, then wi =

w[s]
nF [s] .

Note that

if nF [s] = 0, then the raking algorithm ensures that w[s] = 0, so wi = 00 , which we define as 0. A similar
form for the estimator in 5 can be written for the estimates based on the longitudinal panel, except that
the weights will correspond to vi =

v[s]
nL [s] ,

where nL [s] represents the number of individuals from the

longitudinal panel in stratum s.
The forms of the terms on the right-hand side of (4) can be estimated by
ˆ ∗] =
Var[µ̂

N
X
i=1

23

wi2 (Yi − µ̂)2 ,

(6)

and
ˆ ∗ , µ̂∗ ] =
Cov[µ̂
F
L

X

wi vi (Yi − µ̂F )(Yi − µ̂L ).

(7)

µ̂F − µ̂L
,
σ̂d

(8)

i∈S

The test statistic takes the form
T

=

and can be used to assign a p-value. Low p-values suggest an inconsistency in some form of coverage
between the new panelists and the longitudinal panel, while high values simply mean that no evidence
of such a discrepancy is found using this particular test.

24

References
Baltagi, Badi H. 2008. Econometric Analysis of Panel Data. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Burhouse, Susan, Karyen Chu, Ryan Goodstein, Joyce Northwood, Yazmin Osaki, and Dhuruv Sharma.
2014. “2013 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.” Technical report. Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation.
CPS. 2012. “Current Population Survey.” http://www.census.gov/cps/.
DCPC. Various Years. “Diary of Consumer Payment Choice.” http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/
cprc/data-resources.htm.
Deming, W. Edwards, and Frederick F. Stephan. 1940. “On a Least Squares Adjustment of a Sampled
Frequency Table When the Expected Marginal Tables are Known.” The Annuals of Mathematical Statistics
11(4): 427–444.
Duncan, Greg J., and Graham Kalton. 1987. “Issues of Design and Analysis of Surveys Across Time.”
International Statistical Review 55(1): 97–117.
Eicker, Friedhelm. 1967. “Limit Theorems for Regression with Unequal and Dependent Errors.” Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability 59–82.
Foster, Kevin, Erik Meijer, Scott Schuh, and Michael A. Zabek. 2011. “The 2009 Survey of Consumer
Payment Choice.” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Public Policy Discussion Paper #11–1.
Foster, Kevin, Scott Schuh, and Hanbing Zhang. 2013. “The 2010 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice.”
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Public Policy Discussion Paper #13–2.
FRB Boston. 2015. “2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice: A Comparison of the Longitudinal Panel
to the Full Sample.” http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/cprc/scpc/.
FRB Kansas City. 2010. “A Study of the Unbanked and Underbanked Consumer in the Tenth Federal
Reserve District.” Technical report. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Frees, Edward W. 2004. Longitudinal and Panel Data: Analysis and Applications in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
25

Gelman, Andrew, and Hao Lu. 2003. “Sampling Variances for Surveys with Weighting, Post-stratification,
and Raking.” Journal of Official Statistics 19(2): 133–151.
Huber, Peter J. 1967. “The Behavior of Maximum Likelihood Estimates Under Nonstandard Conditions.”
Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability 221–233.
Lynn, Peter. 2009. Methodology of Longitudinal Surveys. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Miller, Rupert G. 1981. Simultaneous Statistical Inference. New York, New York: Springer Verlag, 2nd ed.
SAS Institute Inc. 1999. SAS/STAT User’s Guide, Version 8. SAS Institue Inc., Cary, NC.
Schuh, Scott, and Joanna Stavins. 2014. “The 2011–2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice.” Federal
Reserve Bank of Boston Research Data Report #14–1.
SCPC. Various Years. “Survey of Consumer Payment Choice.” http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/
cprc/data-resources.htm.
White, Halbert. 1980. “A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test
for Heteroskedasticity.” Econometrica 48(4): 817–838.

26

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

2012 SCPC Table of Contents

Adoption of Accounts and Payment Instruments
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
Table 8
Table 9
Table 10
Table 11
Table 12

Current Ownership of Accounts and Account Access Technologies
Historical Ownership of Accounts and Account Access Technologies
Discarding of Accounts and Account Access Technologies
Primary Bank Account Holdings, by Type of Deposit Account and Financial Institution
Current Adoption of Payment Instruments, by Type of Asset or Liability
Current Adoption of Payment Instruments, by Form of Instrument and Other Means of Payment
Historical Adoption of Payment Instruments, by Form of Instrument and Other Means of Payment
Discarding of Payment Instruments, by Form of Instrument and Other Means of Payment
Current Adoption of Debit, Credit, and Charge Cards, by Instrument Type and Features
Current Adoption of Prepaid Cards and Contactless Technologies, by Instrument Type and Features
Number of Adopted Accounts and Payment Cards
Mean Number of Payment Instruments Adopted by Account and Payment Instrument Adopters

Liquid Assets and Asset Management
Table 13
Table 14
Table 15
Table 16
Table 17

Cash and Prepaid Card Holdings and Prepaid Card Reloadings
Cash Holdings, by Adoption of Deposit Accounts and Payment Instruments
Cash Withdrawals, Total and at Most Frequented Location
Cash Withdrawal Preferences, by Location and Method
Total Cash Withdrawals, by Adoption of Deposit Accounts and Payment Instrument

Incidence of Use of Accounts and Payment Instruments
Table 18
Table 19
Table 20
Table 21a
Table 21b
Table 22
Table 23
Table 24
Table 25

Share of Consumers Using Accounts and Technologies in a Given Year
Mobile Banking and Mobile Payments
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instruments, by Type of Asset or Liability
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instruments
Share of Adopters Using Payment Instruments
Share of Consumers Making a Transaction, by Type of Transaction
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instrument, by Type of Transaction
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instrument, by Type of Bill Payment
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instrument, by Type of Nonbill, In-Person Transactions

Frequency of Use of Payment Instruments
Table 26a
Table 26b
Table 27
Table 28
Table 29
Table 30
Table 31
Table 32

Number of Consumer Payments in a Typical Month, by Type of Asset or Liability
Percentage Share of Consumer Payments in a Typical Month, by Type of Asset or Liability
Consumer Payments in a Typical Month, by Payment Instrument
Consumer Payments in a Typical Month, by Type of Payment Transaction
Use of Payment Instruments in a Typical Month, by Type of Transaction
Use of Payment Instruments in a Typical Month, by Type of Bill Payment
Use of Payment Instruments in a Typical Month, by Type of Nonbill, In-Person Transactions
Payment Instruments Used in a Typical Period, by Type of Instrument and Transaction

Loss, Theft, or Fraud
Table 33

Loss, Theft, or Fraudulent Use of Payment Instrument

Assessments
Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-1

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 34
Table 35a
Table 35b
Table 35c
Table 35d
Table 35e
Table 35f
Table 35g
Table 35h
Table 35i

Importance Rankings of Characteristics of Payment Instruments
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Acceptance for Payment
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Acquisition and Setup
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Convenience
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Cost
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Payment Records
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Security
Assessments of Payment Locations: Security
Assessment of Debit Authorization Mode
Preferred Way of Authorizing Debit Card Payments

Household Characteristics
Table 36
Table 37
Table 38
Table 39

Demographics: Gender, Age, Race, Ethnicity, and Education
Income and Labor Force Status
Consumers' Financial Responsibility in the Household
Selected Assets and Liabilities

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-2

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Notes to the SCPC Tables
Numeric superscripts in tables correspond to the notes listed below. Extra footnotes on each table are
indicated by a symbol and explained below the table. Definitions of concepts in these tables are provided in
Section XIV of the report "The 2011–2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice."
Footnote Description

General
1
2
3
4
5
6

Superscript "r" indicates that numbers in the table may be revised, that is, 2010 data may have
been updated since their initial release.
The notation "na" indicates that the estimate is not available, often because the related survey
question was not asked in the associated year.
Numbers in italics are not comparable across years due to changes in the survey questionnaire or
methodology.
Numbers may not sum exactly due to rounding or missing values.
Dollar values are not adjusted for inflation [applies to Tables 14, 15, 16, 17].
The nine available payment instruments are cash, check, money order, travelers check, debit card,
credit card, prepaid card, online banking bill payment, and bank account number payment [applies
to Tables 12, 32, 33].

Adoption
7

Adoption of payment instrument means the consumer had the instrument, with the following
exceptions:
a. For cash, adoption means the consumer used the instrument in the given year, held it on person,
held it on property, or had obtained it at least once in a given year [applies to Tables 5, 6, 7, 8, 12,
20, 21b].
b. For money order, travelers check, bank account number payment, and direct deduction from
income, adoption means the consumer used the instrument or method in a given year [applies to
Tables 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 20, 21b].
c. In 2011, the SCPC discontinued asking respondents about their typical use of travelers checks in a
week, month, or year. Travelers check adoption is determined by the response to "In the past 12
months, have you used a travelers check, even once?"

8

9
10

d. For online banking bill payment, adoption means having signed up for online banking bill pay at a
bank's website [applies to Tables 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 21b].
Ever owned includes current adopters as well as respondents who have stated that they have used
an account or technology in the past, but currently do not adopt the account and technology
[applies to Tables 2, 7].
Discarded refers to the difference between ever-owned and current ownership rates [applies to
Tables 3, 8].
General purpose credit cards have a network logo such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American
Express. Branded cards also have a merchant's logo on the card. Some branded cards have a
merchant logo only (no payment network). Charge cards require full payment of the balance at the
end of each billing period [applies to Tables 9, 11].

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-3

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
11

12

In 2011, adoption of online payment service provider was redefined as someone who had adopted
at least one of the following services: (1) PayPal; (2) Google Checkout; (3) Amazon Payments; and
(4) Other. Previously, adoption of an online payment service provider was inferred if "number of
nonbank online payment accounts" of the respondent exceeded zero [applies to Tables 1, 2, and
3].
Mobile banking adoption is defined as having downloaded a mobile banking app or having
performed one of the following activities using a mobile phone: (1) Checked a balance or recent
transaction; (2) Paid a bill; (3) Received a text message alert from bank; (4) Transferred money
between two accounts. In 2010 and prior years, mobile banking adoption was based on a single
question [applies to Tables 1, 2, 3, and 19].

Prepaid Cards
13

14

15

16

General-purpose prepaid cards have a credit card network or PIN network logo and can be used at
any merchant or retailer that accepts cards from that network. Specific-purpose prepaid cards,
such as gift cards or public transportation cards, are limited in use to one or several merchants,
retailers, or service providers [applies to Table 10].
Prepaid card adoption in 2011 was estimated from two random subsamples, with respondents
asked about four categories (n = 1,063) or 12 categories (n =1,088) of prepaid cards. Unless
otherwise indicated, reported 2011 estimates are based on 12 categories to be more consistent
with 2012 estimates, which are based on 13 categories of prepaid card. In 2012, one additional
category was added for clarification, “Other federal, state, or local government benefit card.” See
the technical appendix for details on estimates with four categories [applies to Tables 5, 6, 7, 8, 10,
11, 12, 14, 21b].
The four categories of prepaid cards presented to the respondent in the 2011 survey are
"government issued," "employer issued," "general purpose," and "specific purpose." In the 2010
survey, employer issued was called "payroll card," and specific purpose was called "merchant
specific" [applies to Tables 6, 7, 8].
A reloader is defined as having reported adopting a prepaid card that is reloadable and having
added money to it in the past 12 months [applies to Table 18].

Other
17

The notation "s" indicates that the cell was suppressed due to an insufficient number of
observations.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-4

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 1
Current Ownership of Accounts and Account Access Technologies
Percentage of consumers
Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Deposit and payment accounts
Deposit accounts
Checking............................................................................................
Primary account earns interest........................................................
Overdraft protection.......................................................................
Savings...............................................................................................
Traditional or passbook..................................................................
Money market.................................................................................
With check privileges..................................................................

98.0
91.2
90.1
44.6
67.8
74.4
74.4
na
na

98.8
92.5
91.4
44.9
69.5
75.8
75.8
na
na

-0.8
-1.3
-1.3
-0.3
-1.8
-1.5
-1.5
na
na

Nonbank payment accounts
Online payment service provider.......................................................
Amazon payments...........................................................................
Google checkout.............................................................................
Paypal.............................................................................................
Other...............................................................................................

52.5
14.2
2.7
48.0
1.7

53.5
14.4
3.0
49.0
1.5

-1.0
-0.2
-0.3
-1.0
0.2

Other accounts
Prepaid ..............................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories).....................................................................

52.2
na

52.3
na

-0.2
na

Account access technologies
Deposit account access technologies
ATM card..........................................................................................
ATM card (no debit feature)...........................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................
Telephone banking.............................................................................
Online banking...................................................................................
Mobile banking..................................................................................
App installed...................................................................................
Used mobile phone, with or without app........................................
Check balance or recent transactions with mobile phone............
Bill pay with mobile phone..........................................................
Receive a text message alert from your bank...............................
Transfer money between two accounts with mobile phone..........

82.8
39.5
78.0
31.5
70.1
38.0
22.5
na
32.1
18.4
17.7
19.0

83.6
39.2
78.5
31.6
72.0
35.8
22.3
na
30.0
16.3
17.0
18.2

-0.9
0.3
-0.5
-0.1
-2.0
2.2
0.2
na
2.1
2.2
0.6
0.8

Information and communication technologies
Tablet....................................................................................................
Mobile phone........................................................................................
Smart phone (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc.).............................

27.1
93.8
53.1

28.7
94.8
52.7

-1.5
-1.1
0.4

Difference

Notes: 1–4, 11, 12, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-5

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 2
Historical Ownership of Accounts and Account Access Technologies
Percentage of consumers
Ever owned

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Deposit and payment accounts
Deposit accounts
Checking............................................................................................
Primary account earns interest........................................................
Overdraft protection.......................................................................
Savings...............................................................................................
Traditional or passbook..................................................................
Money market.................................................................................
With check privileges..................................................................

98.8
96.6
95.5
na
na
91.2
91.2
na
na

99.2
96.0
95.7
na
na
90.2
90.2
na
na

-0.4
0.6
-0.2
na
na
1.0
1.0
na
na

Nonbank payment accounts
Online payment service provider.......................................................
Amazon payments...........................................................................
Google checkout.............................................................................
Paypal.............................................................................................
Other...............................................................................................

na
na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na
na

Other accounts
Prepaid ..............................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories).....................................................................

na
78.3
na

na
79.8
na

na
-1.5
na

Account access technologies
Deposit account access technologies
ATM card..........................................................................................
ATM card (no debit feature)...........................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................
Telephone banking.............................................................................
Online banking...................................................................................
Mobile banking..................................................................................
App installed...................................................................................
Used mobile phone, with or without app........................................
Check balance or recent transactions with mobile phone............
Bill pay with mobile phone..........................................................
Receive a text message alert from your bank...............................
Transfer money between two accounts with mobile phone..........

90.5
63.9
86.0
44.3
76.0
49.4
27.9
na
43.3
28.3
23.8
24.3

89.9
63.5
85.0
44.9
76.6
46.6
26.9
na
40.3
25.2
22.8
23.2

0.5
0.4
1.0
-0.6
-0.6
2.9
1.0
na
3.0
3.1
1.0
1.2

Information and communication technologies
Tablet....................................................................................................
Mobile phone........................................................................................
Smart phone (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc.).............................

na
97.5
na

na
97.9
na

na
-0.4
na

Notes: 1–4, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-6

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 3
Discarding of Accounts and Account Access Technologies
Percentage of consumers
Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Deposit and payment accounts
Deposit accounts
Checking............................................................................................
Primary account earns interest........................................................
Overdraft protection.......................................................................
Savings...............................................................................................
Traditional or passbook..................................................................
Money market.................................................................................
With check privileges..................................................................

0.9
5.2
5.4
na
na
16.6
16.6
na
na

0.6
3.4
4.2
na
na
14.3
14.3
na
na

0.4
1.8
1.2
na
na
2.3
2.3
na
na

Nonbank payment accounts
Online payment service provider.......................................................
Amazon payments...........................................................................
Google checkout.............................................................................
Paypal.............................................................................................
Other...............................................................................................

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

Other accounts
Prepaid ..............................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories).....................................................................

26.2
na

27.5
na

-1.3
na

Account access technologies
Deposit account access technologies
ATM card..........................................................................................
ATM card (no debit feature)...........................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................
Telephone banking.............................................................................
Online banking...................................................................................
Mobile banking..................................................................................
App installed...................................................................................
Used mobile phone, with or without app........................................
Check balance or recent transactions with mobile phone............
Bill pay with mobile phone..........................................................
Receive a text message alert from your bank...............................
Transfer money between two accounts with mobile phone..........

7.6
24.2
7.9
12.5
5.8
7.0
2.7
na
6.4
7.1
3.5
2.4

6.2
24.1
6.2
13.1
4.6
7.1
2.3
na
6.3
6.8
3.5
2.5

1.4
0.1
1.7
-0.6
1.3
-0.2
0.4
na
0.2
0.3
0.0
0.0

Information and communication technologies
Tablet....................................................................................................
Mobile phone........................................................................................
Smart phone (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc.).............................

na
3.7
na

na
3.1
na

na
0.6
na

Discarded

Difference

Notes: 1–4, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-7

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 4
Primary Bank Account Holdings, by Type of Deposit Account and Financial Institution
Percentage of consumers

Full

Long.

Difference

Primary checking account
Commercial bank......................................................................................................
Savings and loan.......................................................................................................
Credit union..............................................................................................................
Brokerage..................................................................................................................
Internet bank.............................................................................................................
Other.........................................................................................................................

60.7
6.7
20.1
0.4
1.0
0.9

61.1
7.3
21.3
0.3
0.7
0.6

-0.4
-0.6
-1.3
0.1
0.3
0.3

Primary savings account
Commercial bank......................................................................................................
Savings and loan.......................................................................................................
Credit union..............................................................................................................
Brokerage..................................................................................................................
Internet bank.............................................................................................................
Other.........................................................................................................................

37.8
5.9
24.3
1.5
2.7
0.9

37.3
6.1
26.0
1.5
3.0
0.7

0.6
-0.2
-1.7
-0.1
-0.3
0.2

Percentage of account adopters*

Full

Long.

Difference

Primary checking account
Commercial bank......................................................................................................
Savings and loan.......................................................................................................
Credit union..............................................................................................................
Brokerage..................................................................................................................
Internet bank.............................................................................................................
Other.........................................................................................................................

67.7
7.5
22.4
0.4
1.1
1.0

66.9
8.0
23.4
0.3
0.8
0.7

0.8
-0.5
-1.0
0.1
0.3
0.3

Primary savings account
Commercial bank......................................................................................................
Savings and loan.......................................................................................................
Credit union..............................................................................................................
Brokerage..................................................................................................................
Internet bank.............................................................................................................
Other.........................................................................................................................

51.8
8.1
33.2
2.0
3.6
1.2

50.0
8.2
34.8
2.1
4.0
0.9

1.8
-0.1
-1.6
0.0
-0.4
0.3

* Adopters are respondents who have identified themselves as owning and/or using that type of account. For example, 66.9% of checking
account adopters identified "commercial bank" as the location of their primary checking account in the Long. column.
Notes: 1–4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-8

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 5
Current Adoption of Payment Instruments, by Type of Asset or Liability
Percentage of consumers
Full panel
Assets
Money (M1)*
Cash (currency)..................................................................................
Travelers check
Demand deposit accounts, consumer
Checks............................................................................................
Personal.......................................................................................
Certified....................................................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................
Online banking bill payment...........................................................
Bank account number payment.......................................................
Other deposit accounts.......................................................................
Cashier's check................................................................................
Other (unknown/unspecified)
Direct deduction from income
Money order......................................................................................
Prepaid...............................................................................................
Liabilities
Credit or charge card............................................................................
Credit.................................................................................................
Charge................................................................................................
Text/SMS mobile payment...................................................................

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

100.0
99.9
1.2
95.5
82.8
82.8
4.2
78.0
51.6
61.9

100.0
100.0
1.4
96.3
85.4
85.4
4.4
78.5
55.3
62.7

0.0
-0.1
-0.2
-0.7
-2.6
-2.6
-0.1
-0.5
-3.8
-0.8

7.9
67.8
15.8
23.5
52.2

8.2
67.3
16.4
21.7
52.3

-0.3
0.5
-0.7
1.9
-0.2

68.7
68.0
9.6
3.0

72.1
71.6
10.9
2.8

-3.3
-3.5
-1.3
0.1

* For M1 official definition, see Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.6.
Notes: 1–4, 7, 14.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-9

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 6
Current Adoption of Payment Instruments, by Form of Instrument and Other Means of Payment
Percentage of consumers
Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Paper instruments
Cash......................................................................................................
Checks..................................................................................................
Certified check...................................................................................
Cash and check substitutes....................................................................
Money order......................................................................................
Travelers check..................................................................................
Cashier's check...................................................................................

100.0
99.9
82.8
4.2
31.0
23.5
1.2
7.9

100.0
100.0
85.4
4.4
29.8
21.7
1.4
8.2

0.0
-0.1
-2.6
-0.1
1.1
1.9
-0.2
-0.3

Payment cards
Payment cards (4 categories)
Debit.....................................................................................................
Credit or charge card............................................................................
Credit.................................................................................................
Charge ...............................................................................................
Prepaid .................................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)........................................................................

96.3
na
78.0
68.7
68.0
9.6
52.2
na

97.1
na
78.5
72.1
71.6
10.9
52.3
na

-0.8
na
-0.5
-3.3
-3.5
-1.3
-0.2
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment.................................................................
Bank account number payment.............................................................

75.4
51.6
61.9

77.6
55.3
62.7

-2.2
-3.8
-0.8

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income..............................................................

15.8

16.4

-0.7

Notes: 1–4, 7, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-10

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 7
Historical Adoption of Payment Instruments, by Form of Instrument and Other Means of Payment
Percentage of consumers
Ever adopted

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Paper instruments
Cash......................................................................................................
Checks..................................................................................................
Certified check...................................................................................
Cash and check substitutes....................................................................
Money order......................................................................................
Travelers check..................................................................................
Cashier's check...................................................................................

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

80.8
na
na

80.9
na
na

-0.1
na
na

Payment cards
Payment cards (4 categories)
Debit.....................................................................................................
Credit or charge card............................................................................
Credit.................................................................................................
Charge................................................................................................
Prepaid..................................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)........................................................................

86.0
85.0
na
na
78.3
na

85.0
86.3
na
na
79.8
na

1.0
-1.3
na
na
-1.5
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment.................................................................
Bank account number payment.............................................................

58.1
na

61.0
na

-2.9
na

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income..............................................................

na

na

na

Notes: 1–4, 7, 8, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-11

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 8
Discarding of Payment Instruments, by Form of Instrument and Other Means of Payment
Percentage of consumers
Discarded

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Paper instruments
Cash......................................................................................................
Checks..................................................................................................
Certified check...................................................................................
Cash and check substitutes....................................................................
Money order......................................................................................
Travelers check..................................................................................
Cashier's check...................................................................................

na
na
na
na
57.3
na
na

na
na
na
na
59.4
na
na

na
na
na
na
-2.1
na
na

Payment cards
Payment cards (4 categories)
Debit.....................................................................................................
Credit or charge card............................................................................
Credit.................................................................................................
Charge................................................................................................
Prepaid..................................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)........................................................................

7.9
16.3
na
na
26.2
na

6.2
14.2
na
na
27.5
na

1.7
2.1
na
na
-1.3
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment.................................................................
Bank account number payment.............................................................

6.7
na

5.9
na

0.8
na

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income..............................................................

na

na

na

Difference

Notes: 1–4, 9, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-12

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 9
Current Adoption of Debit, Credit, and Charge Cards, by Instrument Type and Features
Percentage of consumers
Full

Long.

Difference

Debit cards
Rewards...................................................................................................................
Nonrewards.............................................................................................................
Contactless..............................................................................................................

78.0
na
na
10.4

78.5
20.2
na
10.2

-0.5
na
na
0.2

Credit cards or charge cards
Rewards...................................................................................................................
Nonrewards.............................................................................................................

68.7
54.1
40.3

72.1
56.4
42.1

-3.3
-2.3
-1.8

Credit
Rewards................................................................................................................
Nonrewards..........................................................................................................
Contactless...........................................................................................................

68.0
53.2
39.9
8.7

71.6
55.3
41.9
10.1

-3.5
-2.1
-1.9
-1.5

General purpose...................................................................................................
Visa, MasterCard, Discover .............................................................................
American Express .............................................................................................
Rewards.............................................................................................................
Nonrewards.......................................................................................................
Company or store branded ..................................................................................
Rewards.............................................................................................................
Nonrewards.......................................................................................................

67.2
66.7
10.7
50.7
31.0
41.7
20.0
21.6

70.8
70.2
11.8
52.6
32.0
45.4
22.0
24.0

-3.6
-3.6
-1.1
-1.9
-1.0
-3.8
-2.1
-2.3

Charge
Rewards................................................................................................................
Nonrewards..........................................................................................................
American Express charge cards............................................................................
Rewards.............................................................................................................
Nonrewards.......................................................................................................
Diners Club or other charge cards........................................................................
Rewards.............................................................................................................
Nonrewards.......................................................................................................

9.6
6.7
1.6
9.1
6.5
1.3
1.4
0.4
0.4

10.9
7.4
1.6
10.3
7.1
1.2
1.8
0.6
0.5

-1.3
-0.7
0.0
-1.2
-0.6
0.1
-0.5
-0.2
0.0

Notes: 1–4, 10.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-13

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 10
Current Adoption of Prepaid Cards and Contactless Technologies, by Instrument Type and Features
Percentage of consumers
Full
Long.

Difference

Prepaid cards (4 categories)
Contactless..............................................................................................................
General purpose......................................................................................................
Merchant specific....................................................................................................
Payroll.....................................................................................................................
Government issued..................................................................................................

na
na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na
na

Prepaid cards (12 or 13 categories)
Contactless..............................................................................................................
Government related
Direct express card...............................................................................................
Electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card................................................................
Public transportation card.....................................................................................
Other federal, state, or local government benefit card..........................................
Employer related
Payroll card..........................................................................................................
Incentive card.......................................................................................................
Benefit card..........................................................................................................
Other
Gift card...............................................................................................................
Phone card............................................................................................................
Remittance card....................................................................................................
Rebate card...........................................................................................................
Location specific card..........................................................................................
Other general purpose card..................................................................................

52.2
3.0
20.7
1.6
11.6
10.1
3.0
10.5
1.9
1.9
8.1
39.1
30.2
5.7
0.8
7.0
2.8
9.9

52.3
3.3
19.5
1.6
11.1
8.4
2.6
11.5
2.1
2.2
8.7
40.7
32.3
6.2
0.8
7.9
2.6
9.7

-0.2
-0.3
1.2
0.0
0.5
1.7
0.4
-1.0
-0.2
-0.3
-0.7
-1.7
-2.2
-0.4
0.0
-0.9
0.1
0.2

Contactless Technologies
Any payment card....................................................................................................
Electronic toll payment...........................................................................................
Key fob....................................................................................................................
Mobile phone*........................................................................................................

27.3
17.5
9.8
1.6
0.8

27.9
18.5
10.6
1.8
1.0

-0.6
-1.0
-0.9
-0.3
-0.2

* Adoption means the consumer used the instrument in a given year.
Notes: 1–4, 7, 13, 14.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-14

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 11
Number of Adopted Accounts and Payment Cards
Mean number per adopter*
Full

Long.

Deposit accounts
Checking.................................................................................................................
Savings....................................................................................................................
Traditional or passbook........................................................................................
Money market......................................................................................................

3.0
1.6
1.8
na
na

3.1
1.6
1.8
na
na

-0.1
0.0
0.0
na
na

Nonbank payment accounts
Online payment service provider.............................................................................

na

na

na

ATM and debit cards
ATM........................................................................................................................
Debit........................................................................................................................

1.5
1.6

1.4
1.6

0.0
0.0

Credit cards
Rewards...................................................................................................................
Nonrewards.............................................................................................................

3.9
2.3
1.6

4.0
2.3
1.7

-0.2
-0.1
-0.1

General purpose .....................................................................................................
Rewards................................................................................................................
Nonrewards..........................................................................................................

2.4
1.5
0.9

2.4
1.6
0.9

-0.1
-0.1
0.0

Charge ....................................................................................................................
Rewards................................................................................................................
Nonrewards..........................................................................................................

0.2
0.1
0.0

0.2
0.1
0.0

0.0
0.0
0.0

Branded ..................................................................................................................
Rewards................................................................................................................
Nonrewards..........................................................................................................

1.4
0.7
0.9

1.5
0.7
0.9

-0.1
0.0
-0.1

2.9

2.8

0.1

Prepaid cards

Difference

* Bold-face numbers are per adopter of the instrument. The denominator for each of the subcategories is the number of adopters of the
bold-faced instrument.
Notes: 1–4, 7, 10, 14.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-15

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 12
Mean Number of Payment Instruments Adopted by Account and Payment Instrument Adopters
Full

Long.

9

9

9

Total (all consumers)
Paper instruments..................................................................................................
Card instruments....................................................................................................
Electronic instruments...........................................................................................
Deposit account non-adopters

5.2
2.1
2.0
1.1
2.2

5.3
2.1
2.0
1.2
2.3

-0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
-0.1

Deposit account adopters
Checking and savings account adopters.............................................................
Checking account adopters, no savings..............................................................
Savings account adopters, no checking..............................................................

5.5
5.7
5.1
s

5.6
5.7
5.1
s

0.0
0.0
0.0
s

Paper instrument adopters
Cash adopters.....................................................................................................
Check adopters...................................................................................................
Money order adopters.........................................................................................
Travelers check adopters....................................................................................

5.2
5.2
5.6
5.6
s

5.3
5.3
5.6
5.7
s

-0.1
-0.1
0.0
-0.1
s

Payment card adopters
Debit adopters....................................................................................................
Credit adopters...................................................................................................
Prepaid adopters.................................................................................................

5.4
5.7
5.8
5.7

5.4
5.8
5.8
5.8

0.0
0.0
0.0
-0.1

Electronic payment adopters
Online banking bill payment adopters................................................................
Bank account number payment adopters............................................................

5.9
6.2
6.0

5.9
6.2
6.1

0.0
0.0
0.0

Available number of payment instruments

Difference

Notes: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 14, 17.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-16

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 13
Cash and Prepaid Card Holdings and Prepaid Card Reloadings
Dollars per consumer, except as noted

Cash holdings
On person...........................................................................................
On property........................................................................................

Full
424
63
374

Mean
Long.
464
73
401

Diff
-39
-11
-28

Full
63
25
5

Median
Long.
69
29
10

Excluding large-value holdings*........................................................
On person........................................................................................
On property.....................................................................................

155
52
107

174
61
117

-19
-9
-10

59
23
2

62
25
5

-3
-2
-3

Prepaid card holdings, adopters†

301

346

-45

78

99

-21

Prepaid card reloading
Percentage of consumers reloading prepaid cards..............................
Dollar amount per reloading, reloaders only......................................
Number of reloads per month, reloaders only....................................

12.6
167
1.6

11.8
216
1.4

0.8
-49
0.2

—
46
0.9

—
46
0.7

—
0
0.1

Diff
-7
-4
-5

Notes: 1–4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-17

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 14
Cash Holdings, by Adoption of Deposit Accounts and Payment Instruments
Dollars per consumer*
Mean
Adopters
Full
Long.

Diff

Full

Median
Long.

Diff

Deposit account
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

446
63
396

469
68
412

-23
-5
-17

70
27
9

75
29
13

-5
-2
-4

ATM or debit card
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

390
58
342

396
63
342

-6
-5
1

62
25
6

67
25
10

-4
-1
-3

Credit card
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

455
73
392

428
83
353

27
-10
39

93
35
19

99
39
19

-6
-4
-1

Prepaid card
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

428
61
379

420
72
357

8
-10
21

69
25
9

80
29
18

-11
-4
-9

Money order
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

428
64
373

118
-29
154

51
20
4

Full

309
93
219
Mean
Long.

Diff

Full

Deposit account
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

213
64
154

426
145
293

-213
-81
-139

11
5
0

35
17
0

-25
-11
0

ATM or debit card
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

601
84
533

834
128
730

-232
-44
-198

66
24
0

104
41
8

-38
-17
-8

Credit card
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

359
40
333

561
49
531

-202
-9
-198

28
15
0

34
19
0

-6
-4
0

Prepaid card
On person.................................................................................
Demographics..........................................................................

422
64
370

514
76
452

-92
-11
-83

60
24
2

63
27
5

-3
-3
-2

Money order
On person.................................................................................
On property..............................................................................

425
63
375

509
68
455

-84
-6
-80

69
26
5

70
29
10

-1
-3
-5

Nonadopters

65
27
8
Median
Long.

-14
-7
-4
Diff

* "On person" is defined as cash held in the respondent's wallet, purse, and/or pocket. "On property" is defined as cash held elsewhere by
the respondent (in the respondent's home, car, office, etc.) instead of on person.
Notes: 1–5, 7, 14, 17.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-18

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 15
Cash Withdrawals, Total and at Most Frequented Location
Dollars per consumer per location, except as noted*

Cash withdrawals per month†
Amount per withdrawal...........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

Full
636
131
6.2

Mean
Long.
655
131
6.4

Diff
-19
0
-0.2

Full
260
67
4.0

Most frequent location per month
Amount per withdrawal........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month).........................................

476
139
4.1

470
138
4.1

6
0
0.0

200
60
2.0

200
78
2.0

0
-18
0.0

All other locations per month
Amount per withdrawal........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month).........................................

165
50
2.1

189
58
2.3

-24
-8
-0.2

13
19
0.4

18.1
17
0.4

-5
3
0.0

Full

Mean
Long.

Diff

Full

ATM per month
Amount per withdrawal...........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

415
111
4.2

445
113
4.3

-29
-3
-0.1

200
59
2.9

200
60
2.7

0
0
0.3

Bank teller per month
Amount per withdrawal...........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

622
234
3.0

535
222
2.9

87
12
0.1

300
100
1.8

290
99
2.0

10
0
-0.2

Check cashing store per month
Amount per withdrawal...........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

1110
389
3.0

s
s
s

s
s
s

688
385
1.4

s
s
s

s
s
s

Retail or grocery store per month
Amount per withdrawal...........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

150
37
4.1

122
34
3.9

28
2
0.3

80
20
2.4

80
20
2.3

0
0
0.1

Employer per month
Amount per withdrawal...........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

1042
218
6.0

1101
202
6.3

-60
16
-0.4

588
99
3.9

481
119
4.1

107
-20
-0.2

Family or friend per month
Amount per withdrawal...........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

291
59
5.0

319
61
4.6

-28
-2
0.4

50
26
1.7

50
39
1.0

0
-13
0.7

Other per month
Amount per withdrawal...........................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

881
200
6.8

985
155
9.0

-104
45
-2.2

386
97
2.2

503
83
4.1

-117
14
-1.9

Total

At Most Frequented Location

Median
Long.
280
74
4.0

Median
Long.

Diff
-20
-7
0.0

Diff

* The amount for each location is the dollar amount of withdrawals at that location only by consumers who named that location as their
most frequent location. Amount withdrawn per month is obtained from the amount per withdrawal times the number of withdrawals,
calculated for each consumer.
† Cash withdrawals per month is the withdrawal-weighted average of typical amounts per withdrawal from the primary and all other
locations.
Notes: 1, 4, 5, 17.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-19

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 16
Cash Withdrawal Preferences, by Location and Method
Percentage of consumers

Full

Mean
Long.
90.2
99.0
Mean
Long.
49.6
24.0
1.8
12.6
3.4
4.8
3.9
Mean
Long.

ATM
Debit card..................................................................................
ATM card..................................................................................
Prepaid card...............................................................................
Credit card cash advance...........................................................
Other type of card......................................................................

76.1
19.3
2.6
0.4
1.7

72.3
21.3
4.2
0.2
1.9

3.9
-2.1
-1.7
0.2
-0.3

Retail store
Debit card..................................................................................
Write a check.............................................................................
Prepaid card...............................................................................
Other method.............................................................................

84.6
2.5
3.4
9.5

89.0
2.1
1.0
7.9

-4.4
0.4
2.5
1.6

Total
Cash withdrawals (monthly).........................................................
Cash withdrawals (annually).........................................................
Most Frequented Location
ATM.............................................................................................
Bank teller....................................................................................
Check cashing store......................................................................
Retail or grocery store..................................................................
Employer......................................................................................
Family or friend............................................................................
Other.............................................................................................
Most Frequent Method, by Location

Full
92.2
98.6
Full
49.9
22.1
2.3
12.0
3.5
6.1
4.1

Difference
2.0
-0.4
Difference
0.3
-1.8
0.5
-0.6
0.1
1.3
0.2
Difference

Notes: 1–5.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-20

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 17
Total Cash Withdrawals, by Adoption of Deposit Accounts and Payment Instrument
Dollars per month per location, except as noted*
Mean
Adopters
Full
Long.
Diff

Full

Median
Long.

Diff

Deposit account per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

578
122
5.9

563
122
5.8

16
1
0.1

247
60
4.0

260
68
4.0

-13
-8
0.0

ATM or debit card per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

567
113
6.1

548
112
5.9

19
1
0.1

240
60
4.0

240
60
4.0

0
0
0.0

Credit card per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

554
124
5.4

572
119
5.8

-18
5
-0.4

236
70
3.0

242
73
3.5

-6
-3
-0.5

Prepaid card per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

621
129
6.3

649
127
6.7

-28
2
-0.4

267
70
3.9

300
75
4.0

-33
-5
-0.1

Money order per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

952
139
9.5

1046
132
10.7

-93
6
-1.2

400
70
4.3

433
78
4.6

-34
-8
-0.2

Full

Mean
Long.

Diff

Full

Deposit account per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

1182
228
8.2

1538
234
11.4

-356
-6
-3.2

476
100
3.1

621
114
3.5

-146
-14
-0.4

ATM or debit card per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

939
222
6.5

1089
224
7.8

-150
-2
-1.3

400
103
2.3

502
129
3.0

-102
-26
-0.7

Credit card per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

819
148
8.0

871
166
7.9

-52
-18
0.1

319
60
4.0

400
77
4.0

-81
-17
0.0

Prepaid card per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

646
133
6.0

652
136
6.0

-7
-3
0.0

240
62
3.3

241
72
3.3

-1
-10
0.1

Money order per month
Amount per withdrawal............................................................
Withdrawals (number per month)............................................

535
128
5.2

541
131
5.2

-6
-2
0.0

220
64
3.0

240
73
3.0

-20
-9
0.0

Nonadopters

Median
Long.

Diff

* Amount withdrawn per month is obtained from the amount per withdrawal times the number of withdrawals, calculated for each
consumer.
Notes: 1–5, 7, 17.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-21

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 18
Share of Consumers Using Accounts and Technologies in a Given Year
Percentage of consumers

Full

Long.

Diff

Deposit account access
Bank branch visit*..................................................................................................
ATM.......................................................................................................................
Telephone banking.................................................................................................
Online banking.......................................................................................................
Using a computer or laptop.................................................................................
Using a mobile phone..........................................................................................
Using other internet connected device.................................................................
Using other device...............................................................................................
Mobile banking......................................................................................................
App installed.......................................................................................................
Used mobile phone, with or without app.............................................................
Check balance or recent transactions with mobile phone.................................
Bill pay with mobile phone..............................................................................
Receive a text message alert from your bank...................................................
Transfer money between two accounts with mobile phone..............................

88.5
72.3
73.4
23.0
68.5
66.1
22.3
23.7
0.0
37.0
na
37.0
32.1
18.4
17.7
19.0

89.2
73.7
73.5
22.3
70.3
68.3
21.2
24.3
0.0
34.5
na
34.5
30.0
16.3
17.0
18.2

-0.7
-1.4
-0.2
0.7
-1.8
-2.2
1.1
-0.6
0.0
2.5
na
2.5
2.1
2.2
0.6
0.8

Nonbank payment accounts
Online payment service provider............................................................................
Prepaid card reloading............................................................................................

38.7
12.6

38.5
11.8

0.1
0.8

Percentage of adopters

Full

Long.

Diff

Deposit account access
Bank branch visit....................................................................................................
ATM.......................................................................................................................
Telephone banking.................................................................................................
Online banking.......................................................................................................
Using a computer or laptop.................................................................................
Using a mobile phone..........................................................................................
Using other internet connected device.................................................................
Mobile banking......................................................................................................
App installed.......................................................................................................
Used mobile phone, with or without app.............................................................
Check balance or recent transactions with mobile phone.................................
Bill pay with mobile phone..............................................................................
Receive a text message alert from your bank...................................................
Transfer money between two accounts with mobile phone..............................

97.4
79.2
81.1
25.3
75.4
72.8
22.3
26.1
40.6
na
40.6
35.2
20.2
19.4
20.9

97.0
79.6
80.1
24.3
76.4
74.3
21.2
26.4
37.3
na
37.3
32.5
17.6
18.4
19.7

0.4
-0.4
1.0
1.0
-1.1
-1.5
1.1
-0.3
3.3
na
3.3
2.7
2.6
0.9
1.1

Demographics
Online payment service provider............................................................................
Prepaid card reloading, reloaders only (monthly)..................................................

73.9
na

72.1
na

1.8
na

* Bank branch visit is defined as visiting a bank and interacting with a teller or other bank employee. It does not include visiting an ATM
located at a bank branch.
Notes: 1–4, 16.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-22

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 19
Mobile Banking and Mobile Payments
Percentage of consumers, except as noted
Full

Long.

Difference

Current adoption and use of mobile banking
Mobile banking app installed..................................................................................
Check balance or recent transactions with mobile phone........................................
Bill pay with mobile phone.....................................................................................
Receive a text message alert from your bank..........................................................
Transfer money between two accounts with mobile phone.....................................
Historical adoption of mobile banking
Mobile banking app installed..................................................................................
Check balance or recent transactions with mobile phone........................................
Bill pay with mobile phone.....................................................................................
Receive a text message alert from your bank..........................................................
Transfer money between two accounts with mobile phone.....................................

38.0
22.5
32.1
18.4
17.7
19.0
49.4
27.9
43.3
28.3
23.8
24.3

35.8
22.3
30.0
16.3
17.0
18.2
46.6
26.9
40.3
25.2
22.8
23.2

2.2
0.2
2.1
2.2
0.6
0.8
2.9
1.0
3.0
3.1
1.0
1.2

Discard rate of mobile banking
Mobile banking app installed..................................................................................
Check balance or recent transactions with mobile phone........................................
Bill pay with mobile phone.....................................................................................
Receive a text message alert from your bank..........................................................
Transfer money between two accounts with mobile phone.....................................
Use of mobile payments on an annual basis
Text/SMS................................................................................................................
Contactless..............................................................................................................
Scanned a barcode...................................................................................................
Used your mobile phone's web browser..................................................................
Used a mobile app...................................................................................................
Swiped card in device attached to mobile phone.....................................................
Use of mobile payments on an annual basis (percentage of users)
Text/SMS................................................................................................................
Contactless..............................................................................................................
Scanned a barcode...................................................................................................
Used your mobile phone's web browser..................................................................
Used a mobile app...................................................................................................
Swiped card in device attached to mobile phone.....................................................

7.0
2.7
6.4
7.1
3.5
2.4
19.5
3.0
0.8
2.0
12.2
7.6
6.6

7.1
2.3
6.3
6.8
3.5
2.5
18.0
2.8
1.0
2.0
12.0
7.0
6.4

-0.2
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.0
0.0
1.5
0.1
-0.2
-0.1
0.2
0.6
0.2

15.2
3.9
10.2
62.6
39.3
34.1

15.8
5.5
11.5
66.7
39.0
36.0

-0.5
-1.6
-1.3
-4.1
0.2
-1.9

Notes: 1–4, 11.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-23

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 20
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instruments, by Type of Asset or Liability
Monthly
Percentage of consumers

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

0.1
na

87.4
1.2

87.3
1.4

0.1
-0.2

65.5
na
61.7
35.6
53.7

-3.9
na
1.1
-2.6
-0.3

68.1
4.2
65.1
34.1
59.4

72.0
4.4
64.4
36.8
60.1

-4.0
-0.1
0.7
-2.7
-0.7

na

na

na

7.9

8.2

-0.3

13.5
11.1
11.5

14.2
9.4
10.3

-0.7
1.7
1.2

14.4
14.4
16.3

15.1
12.7
15.8

-0.7
1.7
0.5

53.6
na
na
na

55.9
na
na
na

-2.3
na
na
na

57.3
na
na
3.0

59.7
na
na
2.8

-2.4
na
na
0.1

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

84.8
na

84.7
na

61.7
na
62.7
33.0
53.5

Assets
Money (M1)*
Cash (currency).................................................................
Travelers check.................................................................
Demand deposit accounts, consumer
Checks........................................................................
Personal...................................................................
Certified................................................................
Debit card......................................................................
Online banking bill payment..........................................
Bank account number payment......................................
Other deposit accounts, bank............................................
Cashier's check...............................................................
Other (unknown/unspecified)
Direct deduction from income..........................................
Money order.....................................................................
Prepaid..............................................................................
Liabilities
Credit or charge card...........................................................
Credit................................................................................
Charge...............................................................................
Text/SMS mobile payment..................................................

Annual
Difference

Difference

* For M1 official definition, see Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.6.
Notes: 1–4, 7, 14.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-24

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 21a
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instruments
Monthly
Percentage of consumers

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Annual
Difference

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Paper instruments
Cash.....................................................................................
Check...................................................................................
Certified check..................................................................
Money order.........................................................................
Travelers check....................................................................
Cashier's check.....................................................................

91.5
84.8
61.7
na
11.1
na
na

91.7
84.7
65.5
na
9.4
na
na

-0.2
0.1
-3.9
na
1.7
na
na

92.5
87.4
68.1
4.2
14.4
1.2
7.9

92.4
87.3
72.0
4.4
12.7
1.4
8.2

0.1
0.1
-4.0
-0.1
1.7
-0.2
-0.3

Payment cards
Debit.....................................................................................
Credit or charge card............................................................
Credit................................................................................
Charge...............................................................................
Prepaid.................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories).......................................................

85.9
62.7
53.6
na
na
11.5
na

85.4
61.7
55.9
na
na
10.3
na

0.5
1.1
-2.3
na
na
1.2
na

86.8
65.1
57.3
na
na
16.3
na

86.4
64.4
59.7
na
na
15.8
na

0.4
0.7
-2.4
na
na
0.5
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment................................................
Bank account number payment............................................

64.5
33.0
53.5

66.1
35.6
53.7

-1.6
-2.6
-0.3

67.8
34.1
59.4

69.2
36.8
60.1

-1.4
-2.7
-0.7

Unknown/unspecified instrument
Mobile payments..................................................................
Text/SMS..........................................................................
Contactless........................................................................
Scanned a barcode.............................................................
Used your mobile phone's web browser............................
Used a mobile app.............................................................
Swiped card in device attached to mobile phone..............

na
na
na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na
na
na

19.5
3.0
0.8
2.0
12.2
7.6
6.6

18.0
2.8
1.0
2.0
12.0
7.0
6.4

1.5
0.1
-0.2
-0.1
0.2
0.6
0.2

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income..............................................

13.5

14.2

-0.7

14.4

15.1

-0.7

Notes: 1–4, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-25

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 21b
Share of Adopters Using Payment Instruments
Monthly
Percentage of adopters†

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Annual
Difference

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Paper instruments
Cash.....................................................................................
Check...................................................................................
Certified check..................................................................
Money order........................................................................
Travelers check....................................................................
Cashier's check.....................................................................

91.7
85.3
75.1
na
47.5
na
na

91.9
85.2
77.6
na
43.6
na
na

-0.2
0.1
-2.5
na
3.9
na
na

92.6
87.9
82.9
na
61.6
na
na

92.5
87.8
85.3
na
59.3
na
na

0.1
0.1
-2.4
na
2.3
na
na

Payment cards
Debit....................................................................................
Credit or charge card...........................................................
Credit................................................................................
Charge...............................................................................
Prepaid.................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories).......................................................

89.7
81.1
78.5
na
na
22.1
na

88.6
79.4
78.3
na
na
19.8
na

1.0
1.7
0.3
na
na
2.4
na

90.6
84.1
83.9
na
na
31.4
na

89.6
82.9
83.6
na
na
30.4
na

1.0
1.3
0.3
na
na
1.1
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment................................................
Bank account number payment*..........................................

87.8
64.9
90.1

87.4
65.4
89.5

0.4
-0.5
0.6

92.4
67.1
100.0

91.5
67.6
100.0

0.9
-0.5
0.0

Unknown/unspecified instrument
Mobile payments..................................................................
Text/SMS..........................................................................
Contactless........................................................................
Scanned a barcode............................................................
Used your mobile phone's web browser............................
Used a mobile app............................................................
Swiped card in device attached to mobile phone..............

na
na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na
na

15.2
3.9
10.2
62.6
39.3
34.1

15.8
5.5
11.5
66.7
39.0
36.0

-0.5
-1.6
-1.3
-4.1
0.2
-1.9

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income*...........................................

93.8

94.0

-0.2

100.0

100.0

0.0

* Estimates are 100 percent whenever adoption is defined solely as annual incidence of use.
Notes: 1–4, 7, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-26

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 22
Share of Consumers Making a Transaction, by Type of Transaction

Full

Monthly
Long.

Diff

Full

Annual
Long.

Diff

Any transaction
Online or electronic .................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone ..............................................

95.1
83.7
94.1

94.9
84.4
94.0

0.2
-0.7
0.1

95.1
86.0
94.2

94.9
86.4
94.1

0.2
-0.4
0.1

Bill payments
Automatic..............................................................................
Direct deduction from income............................................
Online....................................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone............................................

91.9
51.7
13.5
65.5
78.0

92.0
53.8
14.2
66.0
78.2

-0.1
-2.0
-0.7
-0.5
-0.2

92.5
52.2
14.4
69.0
83.5

92.4
54.3
15.1
69.4
83.9

0.1
-2.1
-0.7
-0.4
-0.4

Non-bill payments
Online or electronic...............................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone............................................
Retail goods........................................................................
Services..............................................................................

93.2
53.2
92.8
89.2
85.2

93.1
54.7
92.8
88.2
84.8

0.2
-1.5
0.0
1.0
0.4

93.5
65.6
93.0
90.2
87.4

93.2
66.9
92.9
89.3
87.1

0.3
-1.3
0.2
1.0
0.3

Person to person
Online or electronic............................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone.........................................

51.5
16.4
46.1

53.9
17.1
48.9

-2.4
-0.7
-2.8

64.8
23.9
60.5

67.3
24.9
63.4

-2.5
-0.9
-3.0

Notes: 1–4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-27

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 23
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instrument, by Type of Transaction
Nonbill payments
Bill Payments
Online

Monthly

Non-online*

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Paper instruments
Cash.........................................................
Check.......................................................
Money order.............................................
Travelers check........................................

71.3
33.4
52.3
9.1
na

72.0
31.3
55.5
7.4
na

-0.7
2.1
-3.2
1.7
na

19.4
na
16.2
4.2
na

21.0
na
17.8
4.0
na

-1.6
na
-1.7
0.2
na

86.5
83.4
37.4
4.3
na

86.7
83.3
40.5
3.4
na

-0.2
0.1
-3.1
0.8
na

Payment cards
Debit........................................................
Credit or charge card................................
Prepaid.....................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)...........................

68.7
46.2
36.3
4.6
na

68.4
44.5
38.9
4.4
na

0.3
1.7
-2.6
0.3
na

41.1
23.1
22.4
3.6
na

41.7
22.6
23.5
4.0
na

-0.6
0.5
-1.1
-0.4
na

80.8
57.9
48.2
9.2
na

81.1
57.2
50.6
8.4
na

-0.3
0.7
-2.3
0.8
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment....................
Bank account number payment................

62.1
31.9
49.2

63.9
34.5
49.5

-1.9
-2.5
-0.3

16.1
na
16.1

16.1
na
16.1

0.0
na
0.0

11.4
6.1
7.2

12.5
7.1
7.8

-1.1
-1.0
-0.6

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income.................

13.5

14.2

-0.7

na

na

na

na

na

na

Nonbill payments
Bill Payments
Online

Annual

Non-online

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Paper instruments
Cash.........................................................
Check.......................................................
Money order.............................................
Travelers check........................................

79.3
38.3
61.4
11.9
na

80.2
36.1
65.5
10.0
na

-0.9
2.3
-4.1
1.9
na

26.1
na
22.3
6.0
na

27.8
na
24.4
5.8
na

-1.8
na
-2.1
0.2
na

88.3
86.0
47.9
6.3
na

88.4
85.9
52.8
5.4
na

-0.1
0.1
-4.8
0.8
na

Payment cards
Debit........................................................
Credit or charge card................................
Prepaid.....................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)...........................

71.9
48.5
41.4
6.8
na

71.5
47.5
43.6
6.7
na

0.4
1.0
-2.3
0.1
na

55.2
32.0
34.5
6.4
na

56.0
31.4
36.2
6.9
na

-0.8
0.5
-1.7
-0.5
na

82.0
60.3
52.3
13.6
na

82.2
60.1
54.9
13.4
na

-0.2
0.2
-2.6
0.2
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment....................
Bank account number payment................

64.8
33.2
53.9

66.6
35.7
54.4

-1.7
-2.6
-0.6

24.5
na
24.5

24.9
na
24.9

-0.4
na
-0.4

16.9
8.1
12.2

18.0
9.5
12.9

-1.0
-1.4
-0.7

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income.................

14.4

15.1

-0.7

na

na

na

na

na

na

* Non-online refers to retail goods payments, payments for services, and person-to-person payments.
Notes: 1–4, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-28

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 24
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instrument, by Type of Bill Payment
Automatic

Online

By mail or in person

Monthly
Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

51.7

53.8

-2.0

65.5

66.0

-0.5

78.0

78.2

-0.2

Paper instruments
Cash.........................................................
Check.......................................................
Money order.............................................
Travelers check........................................

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

71.3
33.4
52.3
9.1
na

72.0
31.3
55.5
7.4
na

-0.7
2.1
-3.2
1.7
na

Payment cards
Debit........................................................
Credit or charge card................................
Prepaid.....................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)...........................

35.1
20.2
21.7
na
na

36.7
20.1
23.8
na
na

-1.6
0.0
-2.1
na
na

45.5
32.1
21.6
na
na

45.2
30.5
23.3
na
na

0.2
1.6
-1.7
na
na

42.3
26.9
20.3
4.6
na

41.8
25.7
22.0
4.4
na

0.5
1.2
-1.7
0.3
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment....................
Bank account number payment................

42.1
19.2
33.3

44.8
20.6
34.5

-2.7
-1.4
-1.1

49.0
26.1
33.6

50.3
28.4
33.5

-1.4
-2.3
0.1

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income.................

13.5

14.2

-0.7

na

na

na

na

na

na

Any instrument

Automatic

Online

By mail or in person

Annual
Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

52.2

54.3

-2.1

69.0

69.4

-0.4

83.5

83.9

-0.4

Paper instruments
Cash.........................................................
Check.......................................................
Money order.............................................
Travelers check........................................

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

79.3
38.3
61.4
11.9
na

80.2
36.1
65.5
10.0
na

-0.9
2.3
-4.1
1.9
na

Payment cards
Debit........................................................
Credit or charge card................................
Prepaid.....................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)...........................

36.7
21.2
23.9
na
na

38.2
21.6
25.8
na
na

-1.5
-0.4
-1.9
na
na

49.8
34.7
26.6
na
na

49.4
33.2
28.3
na
na

0.4
1.5
-1.8
na
na

47.2
30.0
25.4
6.8
na

46.4
28.8
26.8
6.7
na

0.8
1.1
-1.4
0.1
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment....................
Bank account number payment................

43.2
20.0
35.8

45.8
21.6
37.0

-2.5
-1.5
-1.3

52.9
27.7
38.8

54.6
30.3
39.4

-1.7
-2.6
-0.5

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income.................

14.4

15.1

-0.7

na

na

na

na

na

na

Any instrument

Notes: 1–4, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-29

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 25
Share of Consumers Using Payment Instrument, by Type of Nonbill, In-Person Transactions
Monthly

Retail

Services and other

Person to person

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Any instrument

89.2

88.2

1.0

85.2

84.8

0.4

51.5

53.9

-2.4

Paper instruments
Cash.........................................................
Check.......................................................
Money order.............................................
Travelers check........................................

75.9
73.4
22.2
2.8
na

75.2
72.7
23.9
2.4
na

0.7
0.7
-1.8
0.4
na

70.5
65.3
23.1
2.2
na

70.0
63.6
25.6
2.1
na

0.5
1.7
-2.4
0.1
na

46.1
38.7
15.2
2.2
na

48.9
40.5
17.3
1.8
na

-2.8
-1.9
-2.1
0.4
na

Payment cards
Debit........................................................
Credit or charge card................................
Prepaid.....................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)...........................

77.0
54.4
43.1
7.7
na

77.6
53.8
46.0
6.9
na

-0.6
0.7
-2.9
0.9
na

69.6
46.5
38.2
5.3
na

70.5
45.8
40.4
5.4
na

-1.0
0.7
-2.1
-0.1
na

8.4
6.3
3.6
na
na

8.6
6.4
3.8
na
na

-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
na
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment....................
Bank account number payment................

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

11.4
6.1
7.2

12.5
7.1
7.8

-1.1
-1.0
-0.6

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income.................

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

Annual

Retail

Services and other

Person to person

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Any instrument

90.2

89.3

1.0

87.4

87.1

0.3

64.8

67.3

-2.5

Paper instruments
Cash.........................................................
Check.......................................................
Money order.............................................
Travelers check........................................

79.9
77.4
29.7
4.1
na

79.6
76.8
32.8
3.5
na

0.3
0.6
-3.1
0.6
na

76.0
71.3
31.6
3.3
na

76.0
70.7
34.9
2.8
na

-0.1
0.6
-3.3
0.4
na

60.5
53.3
28.8
3.0
na

63.4
55.4
32.5
2.6
na

-3.0
-2.1
-3.7
0.4
na

Payment cards
Debit........................................................
Credit or charge card................................
Prepaid.....................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)...........................

79.0
57.5
47.6
11.7
na

79.6
57.2
50.7
11.3
na

-0.6
0.3
-3.1
0.4
na

73.9
50.3
44.9
8.1
na

75.1
49.7
47.8
8.3
na

-1.2
0.6
-3.0
-0.2
na

13.0
9.5
6.6
na
na

13.6
9.9
6.8
na
na

-0.5
-0.4
-0.1
na
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment....................
Bank account number payment................

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

16.9
8.1
12.2

18.0
9.5
12.9

-1.0
-1.4
-0.7

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income.................

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

Notes: 1–4, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-30

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 26a
Number of Consumer Payments in a Typical Month, by Type of Asset or Liability
Mean

Number per consumer
Full

Long.

Diff

Total payments
Assets
Money (M1)*
Cash (currency)............................................................................
Travelers check............................................................................
Demand deposit accounts, consumer
Checks
Personal..................................................................................
Certified..............................................................................
Debit card..................................................................................
Online banking bill payment.....................................................
Bank account number payment.................................................
Other deposit accounts.................................................................
Cashier's check..........................................................................

67.3
53.5
52.0
19.0
na
32.5

68.9
54.0
52.6
18.4
na
33.6

-1.5
-0.5
-0.6
0.6
na
-1.1

5.8
na
20.7
2.9
3.1

6.5
na
20.6
3.2
3.3

-0.8
na
0.1
-0.3
-0.2

na

na

na

Other (unknown/unspecified)
Direct deduction from income......................................................
Money order.................................................................................
Prepaid.........................................................................................
Prepaid, per adopter†...................................................................

1.5
0.5
0.5
1.0
1.9

1.4
0.5
0.5
0.8
1.6

0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.2

Liabilities
Credit or charge card.......................................................................
Credit............................................................................................
Charge..........................................................................................
Text/SMS mobile payment..............................................................

13.9
13.9
na
na
na

14.9
14.9
na
na
na

-1.0
-1.0
na
na
na

* For official definition of M1, see Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.6.
† Per adopter estimate is included due to changes in the survey design that affected the rates of adoption of payment instruments (see
Table 4), making the per consumer estimates not comparable across years. Estimates are calculated using only adopters of a payment
instrument, not all consumers.
Notes: 1–4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-31

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 26b
Percentage Share of Consumer Payments in a Typical Month, by Type of Asset or Liability
Share (%)

Percent share
Full

Long.

Diff

Total payments
Assets
Money (M1)*
Cash (currency)............................................................................
Travelers check............................................................................
Demand deposit accounts, consumer
Checks
Personal..................................................................................
Certified..............................................................................
Debit card..................................................................................
Online banking bill payment.....................................................
Bank account number payment.................................................
Other deposit accounts.................................................................
Cashier's check..........................................................................

100
79.4
77.2
28.2
na
48.3

100
78.4
76.4
26.8
na
48.8

0.0
1.0
0.9
1.5
na
-0.6

8.6
na
30.8
4.4
4.5

9.5
na
29.9
4.7
4.7

-0.9
na
0.9
-0.3
-0.2

na

na

na

Other (unknown/unspecified)
Direct deduction from income......................................................
Money order.................................................................................
Prepaid.........................................................................................
Prepaid, per adopter†...................................................................

2.2
0.7
0.7
1.4
1.4

2.0
0.8
0.8
1.2
1.2

0.2
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.2

Liabilities
Credit or charge card.......................................................................
Credit............................................................................................
Charge..........................................................................................
Text/SMS mobile payment..............................................................

20.6
20.6
na
na
na

21.6
21.6
na
na
na

-1.0
-1.0
na
na
na

* For official definition of M1, see Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.6.
† Per adopter estimate is included due to changes in the survey design that affected the rates of adoption of payment instruments (see Table
4), making the per consumer estimates not comparable across years. Estimates are calculated using only adopters of a payment instrument,
not all consumers.
Notes: 1–4, 14.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-32

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 27
Consumer Payments in a Typical Month, by Payment Instrument
Mean
Number per consumer
Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Total payments

67.3

68.9

-1.5

Paper instruments
Cash.......................................................................................................
Check.....................................................................................................
Money order..........................................................................................
Travelers check......................................................................................

25.3
19.0
5.8
0.5
na

25.5
18.4
6.5
0.5
na

-0.2
0.6
-0.8
0.0
na

Payment cards
Debit......................................................................................................
Credit or charge card.............................................................................
Prepaid...................................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories).........................................................................
Prepaid, per adopter*.............................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories), per adopter*...................................................

35.6
20.7
13.9
1.0
na
1.9
na

36.4
20.6
14.9
0.8
na
1.6
na

-0.8
0.1
-1.0
0.1
na
0.2
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment..................................................................
Bank account number payment..............................................................

6.0
2.9
3.1

6.5
3.2
3.3

-0.5
-0.3
-0.2

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income...............................................................

0.5

0.5

0.0

Share (%)
Percentage share
Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Total payments

100

100

0.0

Paper instruments
Cash.......................................................................................................
Check.....................................................................................................
Money order..........................................................................................
Travelers check......................................................................................

37.5
28.2
8.6
0.7
na

37.0
26.8
9.5
0.8
na

0.5
1.5
-0.9
0.0
na

Payment cards
Debit......................................................................................................
Credit or charge card.............................................................................
Prepaid...................................................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories).........................................................................
Prepaid, per adopter*.............................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories), per adopter*...................................................

52.8
30.8
20.6
1.4
na
1.4
na

52.8
29.9
21.6
1.2
na
1.2
na

0.0
0.9
-1.0
0.2
na
0.2
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment..................................................................
Demographics........................................................................................

8.9
4.4
4.5

9.4
4.7
4.7

-0.5
-0.3
-0.2

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income...............................................................

0.7

0.8

0.0

* Per adopter estimate is included due to changes in the survey design that affected the rates of adoption of payment instruments (see
Table 4), making the per consumer estimates not comparable across years. Estimates are calculated using only adopters of a payment
instrument, not all consumers.
Notes: 1–4, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-33

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 28
Consumer Payments in a Typical Month, by Type of Payment Transaction
Mean
Number per consumer

Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Total
Online or electronic ..................................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone.................................................................

67.3
16.6
50.7

68.9
17.8
51.1

-1.5
-1.2
-0.4

Bill payments
Automatic...............................................................................................
Direct deduction from income.............................................................
Other automatic...................................................................................
Online.....................................................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone..............................................................

20.7
5.8
0.5
5.3
6.3
8.7

22.0
6.1
0.5
5.6
6.7
9.2

-1.2
-0.3
0.0
-0.3
-0.4
-0.5

Non-bill payments
Retail and services
Online or electronic.............................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone...........................................................
Retail goods......................................................................................
Services............................................................................................
Person to person
Online or electronic.............................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone...........................................................

46.6
43.3
3.7
39.6
24.2
15.4
3.3
0.8
2.4

46.9
43.6
4.1
39.5
24.1
15.4
3.3
0.9
2.5

-0.3
-0.3
-0.4
0.1
0.1
0.1
-0.1
0.0
0.0

Shares(%)
Percentage share
Full panel

Longitudinal
panel

Difference

Total
Online or electronic ..................................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone.................................................................

100
24.7
75.3

100
25.8
74.2

0.0
-1.1
1.1

Bill payments
Automatic...............................................................................................
Direct deduction from income.............................................................
Other automatic...................................................................................
Online.....................................................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone..............................................................

30.8
8.6
0.7
7.8
9.3
12.9

31.9
8.9
0.8
8.1
9.7
13.3

-1.1
-0.3
0.0
-0.3
-0.4
-0.4

Non-bill Payments
Retail and services
Online or electronic.............................................................................
By mail, in person, or by phone...........................................................
Retail goods......................................................................................
Services............................................................................................
Person to person
Online or electronic.............................................................................
By mail,
g in
p person, or by phone...........................................................

69.2
64.3
5.5
58.8
35.9
22.9
4.9
1.2
3.6

68.1
63.3
6.0
57.3
35.0
22.3
4.8
1.3
3.6

1.1
1.1
-0.5
1.5
0.9
0.6
0.0
0.0
0.0

Notes: 1–4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-34

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 29
Use of Payment Instruments in a Typical Month, by Type of Transaction
Nonbill payments
Bill payments
Online

Number per consumer

Non-online*

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Paper instruments
Cash.........................................................
Check.......................................................
Money order.............................................
Travelers check........................................

5.2
2.3
2.6
0.2
na

5.4
2.2
2.9
0.2
na

-0.2
0.1
-0.3
0.0
na

0.8
na
0.7
0.1
na

0.9
na
0.8
0.1
na

-0.1
na
-0.1
0.0
na

19.3
16.7
2.5
0.2
na

19.2
16.2
2.8
0.2
na

0.1
0.5
-0.4
0.0
na

Payment cards
Debit........................................................
Credit or charge card................................
Prepaid.....................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)...........................

10.0
6.1
3.7
0.1
na

10.5
6.2
4.2
0.1
na

-0.6
-0.1
-0.5
0.0
na

2.4
1.2
1.1
0.1
na

2.7
1.3
1.3
0.1
na

-0.2
0.0
-0.2
0.0
na

23.2
13.3
9.1
0.7
na

23.2
13.1
9.4
0.6
na

0.0
0.2
-0.3
0.1
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment....................
Bank account number payment................

5.1
2.7
2.4

5.5
3.0
2.6

-0.4
-0.2
-0.2

0.5
na
0.5

0.5
na
0.5

0.0
na
0.0

0.4
0.2
0.2

0.4
0.3
0.2

0.0
0.0
0.0

Other methods of payment
Direct deduction from income.................

0.5

0.5

0.0

na

na

na

na

na

na

Nonbill payments
Bill payments
Online

Percentage share

Non-online

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Paper instruments
Cash.........................................................
Check.......................................................
Money order.............................................
Travelers check........................................

7.7
3.5
3.9
0.3
na

7.8
3.3
4.2
0.3
na

-0.1
0.2
-0.3
0.0
na

1.2
na
1.0
0.1
na

1.3
na
1.2
0.1
na

-0.2
na
-0.2
0.0
na

28.7
24.7
3.7
0.3
na

27.9
23.5
4.1
0.3
na

0.8
1.3
-0.4
0.0
na

Payment cards
Debit........................................................
Credit or charge card................................
Prepaid.....................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)...........................

14.8
9.1
5.5
0.2
na

15.3
9.0
6.1
0.2
na

-0.5
0.1
-0.6
0.0
na

3.6
1.8
1.6
0.2
na

3.9
1.9
1.9
0.2
na

-0.3
0.0
-0.2
0.0
na

34.4
19.8
13.5
1.1
na

33.6
19.1
13.7
0.9
na

0.8
0.7
-0.2
0.2
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment....................
Bank account number payment................

7.6
4.0
3.6

8.0
4.3
3.7

-0.4
-0.3
-0.2

0.7
na
0.7

0.7
na
0.7

0.0
na
0.0

0.6
0.3
0.3

0.6
0.4
0.3

0.0
0.0
0.0

Other methods of payment
Direct deduction from income.................

0.7

0.8

0.0

na

na

na

na

na

na

* Non-online refers to retail goods payments, payments for services, and person-to-person payments.
Demographics

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-35

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 30
Use of Payment Instruments in a Typical Month, by Type of Bill Payment
Automatic

By mail, in person,
or by phone

Online

Number per consumer
Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Paper instruments
Cash............................................................................
Check..........................................................................
Money order...............................................................
Travelers check...........................................................

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

5.2
2.3
2.6
0.2
na

5.4
2.2
2.9
0.2
na

-0.2
0.1
-0.3
0.0
na

Payment cards
Debit...........................................................................
Credit or charge card..................................................
Prepaid........................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)..............................................

3.1
1.8
1.3
na
na

3.2
1.7
1.5
na
na

-0.1
0.1
-0.2
na
na

3.4
2.3
1.1
na
na

3.5
2.3
1.2
na
na

-0.1
0.0
-0.1
na
na

3.5
2.1
1.3
0.1
na

3.8
2.2
1.5
0.1
na

-0.3
-0.1
-0.2
0.0
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment.......................................
Bank account number payment...................................

2.2
1.1
1.2

2.4
1.1
1.3

-0.1
0.0
-0.1

2.9
1.7
1.2

3.2
1.8
1.3

-0.3
-0.2
-0.1

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income....................................

0.5

0.5

0.0

na

na

na

na

na

na

Automatic

By mail, in person,
or by phone

Online

Percentage share
Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Paper instruments
Cash............................................................................
Check..........................................................................
Money order...............................................................
Travelers check...........................................................

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

7.7
3.5
3.9
0.3
na

7.8
3.3
4.2
0.3
na

-0.1
0.2
-0.3
0.0
na

Payment cards
Debit...........................................................................
Credit or charge card..................................................
Prepaid........................................................................
Prepaid (4 categories)..............................................

4.6
2.7
1.9
na
na

4.7
2.5
2.2
na
na

-0.1
0.2
-0.3
na
na

5.0
3.4
1.6
na
na

5.1
3.4
1.7
na
na

5.2
3.1
1.9
0.2
na

5.5
3.2
2.1
0.2
na

-0.3
-0.1
-0.2
0.0
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment.......................................
Bank account number payment...................................

3.3
1.6
1.7

3.4
1.6
1.8

-0.1
0.0
-0.1

4.3
2.5
1.9

4.6
2.7
1.9

-0.1
0.0
-0.1
na
na
na
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income....................................

0.7

0.8

0.0

na

na

na

na

na

na

Notes: 1–4, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-36

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 31
Use of Payment Instruments in a Typical Month, by Type of Nonbill, In-Person Transactions
Number per consumer

Retail
Full

Services and other

Person to person

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Paper instruments
10.1
Cash...................................................................... 8.9
Check................................................................... 1.1
Money order......................................................... 0.1
Travelers check....................................................
na

10.0
8.7
1.2
0.1
na

0.1
0.3
-0.2
0.0
na

6.8
5.8
1.0
0.1
na

6.8
5.6
1.1
0.1
na

0.0
0.2
-0.1
0.0
na

2.4
2.0
0.4
0.1
na

2.5
1.9
0.5
0.0
na

0.0
0.0
-0.1
0.0
na

Payment cards
14.1
Debit..................................................................... 8.2
Credit or charge card............................................ 5.4
Prepaid................................................................. 0.5
Prepaid (4 categories).......................................
na

14.1
8.2
5.6
0.4
na

0.0
0.1
-0.2
0.1
na

8.6
4.8
3.6
0.2
na

8.6
4.7
3.7
0.3
na

0.0
0.1
-0.1
0.0
na

0.4
0.3
0.1
na
na

0.4
0.3
0.1
na
na

0.0
0.0
0.0
na
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment................................
Bank account number payment............................

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

0.4
0.2
0.2

0.4
0.3
0.2

0.0
0.0
0.0

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income..............................

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

Percentage share

Retail
Full

Services and other

Person to person

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Full

Long.

Diff

Paper instruments
15.0
Cash...................................................................... 13.3
Check................................................................... 1.6
Money order......................................................... 0.1
Travelers check....................................................
na

14.5
12.6
1.8
0.1
na

0.5
0.7
-0.2
0.0
na

10.1
8.6
1.5
0.1
na

9.8
8.1
1.6
0.1
na

0.3
0.4
-0.2
0.0
na

3.6
2.9
0.6
0.1
na

3.6
2.8
0.7
0.1
na

0.0
0.1
-0.1
0.0
na

Payment cards
20.9
Debit..................................................................... 12.2
Credit or charge card............................................ 8.0
Prepaid................................................................. 0.7
Prepaid (4 categories).......................................
na

20.5
11.8
8.2
0.5
na

0.4
0.4
-0.2
0.2
na

12.8
7.1
5.3
0.4
na

12.5
6.8
5.3
0.4
na

0.3
0.4
0.0
0.0
na

0.6
0.5
0.2
na
na

0.6
0.5
0.2
na
na

0.0
0.0
0.0
na
na

Electronic payments
Online banking bill payment................................
Bank account number payment............................

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

0.6
0.3
0.3

0.6
0.4
0.3

0.0
0.0
0.0

Other means of payment
Direct deduction from income..............................

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

na

Notes: 1–4, 14, 15.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-37

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 32
Payment Instruments Used in a Typical Period, by Type of Instrument and Transaction
Mean number per consumer
Typical month
Full

Long.

Diff

All payments (9 instruments available)
Paper instruments....................................................................................................
Payment cards..........................................................................................................
Electronic payments.................................................................................................

3.7
1.6
1.3
0.9

3.8
1.6
1.3
0.9

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Bill payments (8 instruments available)†
Paper instruments....................................................................................................
Payment cards..........................................................................................................
Electronic payments.................................................................................................

2.6
0.9
0.9
0.8

2.7
0.9
0.9
0.8

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Online payments (6 instruments available)‡
Paper instruments....................................................................................................
Payment cards..........................................................................................................
Electronic payments.................................................................................................

0.9
0.2
0.5
0.2

0.9
0.2
0.5
0.2

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

In-person payments (8 instruments available)**
Paper instruments....................................................................................................
Payment cards..........................................................................................................
Electronic payments.................................................................................................

2.5
1.3
1.2
0.1

2.6
1.3
1.2
0.1

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Full

Long.

Diff

All payments (9 instruments available)
Paper instruments....................................................................................................
Payment cards..........................................................................................................
Electronic payments.................................................................................................

4.0
1.7
1.4
0.9

4.1
1.7
1.4
1.0

-0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0

Bill payments (8 instruments available)†
Paper instruments....................................................................................................
Payment cards..........................................................................................................
Electronic payments.................................................................................................

3.0
1.1
1.0
0.9

3.0
1.1
1.0
0.9

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Online payments (6 instruments available)‡
Paper instruments....................................................................................................
Payment cards..........................................................................................................
Electronic payments.................................................................................................

1.3
0.3
0.7
0.2

1.3
0.3
0.7
0.2

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

In-person payments (8 instruments available)**
Paper instruments....................................................................................................
Payment cards..........................................................................................................
Electronic payments.................................................................................................

2.9
1.4
1.3
0.2

2.9
1.4
1.3
0.2

-0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0

Typical year

† Travelers checks are not presented to the respondent as an option for payment instrument for bill payments.
‡ Cash, travelers check, and OBBP are not presented to the respondent as an option for payment instruments for online payments.
** OBBP is not presented to the respondent as a payment instrument for in-person payments.
Notes: 1–4, 6.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-38

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 33
Loss, Theft, or Fraudulent Use of Payment Instrument
Percentage of consumers or adopters and mean dollar value
Percentage of consumers

Full

Long.

Diff

Incidence in past 12 months
Cash...............................................................................................................................
Checks............................................................................................................................
Credit card.....................................................................................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................................................

15.1
9.0
1.0
3.9
5.7

15.6
9.1
1.0
4.1
6.1

-0.5
-0.2
0.0
-0.2
-0.5

Percentage of adopters

Full

Long.

Diff

Incidence in past 12 months
Cash...............................................................................................................................
Checks............................................................................................................................
Credit card.....................................................................................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................................................

15.2
9.0
1.2
5.6
7.3

15.8
9.1
1.2
5.7
7.8

-0.5
-0.2
0.0
-0.1
-0.6

Mean dollar value*

Full

Long.

Diff

Amount lost or stolen
Cash...............................................................................................................................

312

411

-99

Amount of fraudulent charges†
Checks............................................................................................................................
Credit card.....................................................................................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................................................

s
515
224

s
653
202

s
-138
22

Amount liable for fraudulent charges
Checks............................................................................................................................
Credit card.....................................................................................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................................................

s
127
70

s
s
s

s
s
s

Percentage of consumers reporting zero liability for fraudulent charges
Checks............................................................................................................................
Credit card.....................................................................................................................
Debit card.......................................................................................................................

s
90.5
83.9

s
s
s

s
s
s

* For each payment instrument listed, the value is the average amount for all consumers who experienced loss, theft, or fraud of that
instrument over the past 12 months.
† The amount of fraudulent charges may not be the actual amount of the loss borne by consumers. Actual consumer loss depends on the
policies of depository institutions and card network agreements.
Notes: 1–5, 17.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-39

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 34
Importance Rankings of Characteristics of Payment Instruments
Percentage of consumers
Most
important

Full panel
Characteristics
Acceptance for payment...............................................
Acquisition and setup...................................................
Convenience.................................................................
Cost..............................................................................
Payment records...........................................................
Security........................................................................

21.5
8.2
29.0
23.8
14.2
49.6
Most
important

Longitudinal panel
Characteristics
Acceptance for payment...............................................
Acquisition and setup...................................................
Convenience.................................................................
Cost..............................................................................
Payment records...........................................................
Security........................................................................
Difference
Characteristics
Acceptance for payment...............................................
Acquisition and setup...................................................
Convenience.................................................................
Cost..............................................................................
Payment records...........................................................
Security........................................................................

21.8
8.5
28.1
22.3
14.5
51.4

2nd most

20.6
8.6
20.1
20.1
17.7
21.1
2nd most

20.5
9.7
19.6
21.7
19.5
20.2

3rd most

17.4
9.9
19.1
17.0
18.0
13.9
3rd most

18.6
9.0
20.7
18.2
17.5
13.3

4th most

17.3
13.8
12.4
16.6
19.5
8.9
4th most

16.6
13.2
12.6
15.4
19.4
9.4

5th most

13.2
19.0
12.7
12.9
19.1
4.2
5th most

13.0
20.1
12.4
12.9
18.0
3.5

Least
important

10.0
40.5
6.7
9.5
11.5
2.4
Least
important

9.5
39.5
6.5
9.5
11.1
2.2

Most
important

2nd most

3rd most

4th most

5th most

Least
important

-0.3
-0.3
0.9
1.5
-0.3
-1.8

0.0
-1.1
0.5
-1.6
-1.8
0.8

-1.2
0.9
-1.6
-1.2
0.5
0.6

0.7
0.7
-0.3
1.2
0.0
-0.5

0.2
-1.2
0.3
0.0
1.2
0.6

0.5
0.9
0.2
0.0
0.4
0.2

Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-40

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 35a
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Acceptance for Payment
Percentage of consumers
Rarely
Occasionally
accepted
accepted
Cash
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Check
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Debit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Credit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Prepaid card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Bank account number payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Online banking bill payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................

Often accepted

Usually
accepted

Almost always
accepted

2.1
1.9
0.3

1.5
1.7
-0.2

5.8
6.6
-0.7

13.5
14.0
-0.5

77.0
75.8
1.2

4.7
3.5
1.2

16.9
16.1
0.7

27.8
27.4
0.4

33.1
35.0
-1.9

17.5
17.9
-0.4

1.7
1.4
0.3

1.6
1.1
0.4

8.9
9.7
-0.8

28.2
29.7
-1.5

59.7
58.0
1.6

1.8
1.2
0.6

1.5
0.8
0.7

5.7
6.5
-0.9

25.4
26.1
-0.8

65.6
65.3
0.3

3.7
3.8
-0.2

7.1
6.2
0.9

21.4
21.3
0.1

31.6
32.4
-0.8

36.2
36.3
-0.1

26.3
25.5
0.8

24.8
25.7
-0.9

20.2
18.9
1.3

15.6
16.5
-0.9

13.2
13.4
-0.2

7.9
6.7
1.2

10.8
11.2
-0.4

23.4
24.7
-1.3

28.6
29.8
-1.2

29.3
27.6
1.7

Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-41

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 35b
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Acquisition and Setup
Percentage of consumers
Very hard to Hard to get or
get or set up
set up
Cash
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Check
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Debit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Credit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Prepaid card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Bank account number payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Online banking bill payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................

Neither hard
nor easy

Easy to get or
set up

Very easy to get
or set up

1.9
1.6
0.3

3.4
3.1
0.3

15.4
16.7
-1.2

18.0
17.9
0.1

61.1
60.6
0.5

3.0
2.4
0.5

8.9
8.7
0.2

25.7
25.5
0.2

36.1
37.0
-0.9

26.4
26.3
0.1

1.5
1.1
0.4

4.6
5.0
-0.4

20.6
20.7
-0.2

36.6
38.4
-1.8

36.7
34.8
1.9

5.5
4.0
1.6

10.3
11.3
-0.9

21.4
21.1
0.3

33.8
35.3
-1.5

28.9
28.3
0.6

5.0
4.5
0.5

12.8
13.8
-1.1

33.0
32.3
0.7

27.6
27.9
-0.4

21.6
21.4
0.3

4.7
3.8
0.9

14.6
14.2
0.4

32.4
31.8
0.6

29.8
31.9
-2.1

18.6
18.3
0.2

3.9
2.8
1.0

14.3
13.2
1.1

25.2
26.2
-0.9

33.9
36.3
-2.4

22.7
21.6
1.2

Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-42

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 35c
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Convenience
Percentage of consumers
Very
Inconvenient
Cash
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Check
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Debit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Credit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Prepaid card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Bank account number payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Online banking bill payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................

Inconvenient

Neither
inconvenient
nor convenient

Convenient

Very
Convenient

3.9
3.6
0.3

7.5
8.5
-1.0

12.1
12.3
-0.2

24.2
25.7
-1.5

52.3
49.8
2.5

9.1
8.3
0.9

20.5
20.6
-0.1

25.4
26.1
-0.6

30.1
31.0
-0.8

14.8
14.1
0.7

2.4
2.0
0.4

2.9
3.2
-0.3

8.9
9.1
-0.2

26.7
29.2
-2.5

59.0
56.5
2.6

3.8
2.6
1.2

2.2
2.3
-0.1

9.8
8.7
1.1

25.8
29.2
-3.3

58.4
57.3
1.1

9.0
8.6
0.3

12.9
13.9
-0.9

28.6
28.3
0.3

23.4
24.5
-1.0

26.1
24.8
1.3

12.8
11.9
1.0

20.7
20.9
-0.2

29.5
30.1
-0.6

21.6
24.0
-2.4

15.4
13.2
2.2

5.3
4.0
1.3

6.4
6.0
0.4

18.7
18.8
0.0

29.1
29.8
-0.8

40.5
41.4
-0.9

Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-43

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 35d
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Cost
Percentage of consumers

Cash
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Check
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Debit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Credit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Prepaid card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Bank account number payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Online banking bill payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................

Neither high
nor low cost

Very high cost

High cost

Low cost

Very low cost

1.2
1.1
0.1

1.6
1.3
0.3

17.7
17.4
0.3

10.0
10.0
0.0

69.5
70.3
-0.8

2.3
1.7
0.6

7.9
8.3
-0.5

22.8
23.0
-0.2

37.1
38.2
-1.1

29.9
28.8
1.1

2.0
1.4
0.5

7.4
6.9
0.6

22.8
22.2
0.6

26.1
27.9
-1.8

41.7
41.6
0.1

18.2
18.3
-0.1

27.7
28.4
-0.7

18.6
18.5
0.1

17.3
17.8
-0.5

18.3
17.1
1.2

6.2
5.5
0.7

17.0
16.7
0.3

35.1
34.4
0.7

20.9
22.8
-1.9

20.8
20.6
0.2

3.1
2.8
0.3

4.5
3.9
0.6

30.7
29.6
1.1

24.6
26.7
-2.2

37.2
37.0
0.2

2.1
1.9
0.2

3.7
3.5
0.1

25.2
23.0
2.2

23.2
24.4
-1.2

45.8
47.2
-1.4

Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-44

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 35e
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Payment Records
Percentage of consumers
Very poor
Poor records
records
Cash
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Check
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Debit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Credit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Prepaid card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Bank account number payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Online banking bill payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................

Neither good
nor poor

Good records

Very good
records

35.9
37.8
-2.0

22.8
24.9
-2.1

18.0
17.9
0.1

11.2
10.8
0.4

12.2
8.7
3.5

1.9
1.7
0.2

3.9
3.6
0.4

14.3
13.3
1.0

40.7
43.7
-3.0

39.1
37.7
1.5

2.1
1.9
0.2

3.5
4.0
-0.5

14.3
14.3
0.0

33.5
36.0
-2.5

46.6
43.8
2.8

2.5
1.8
0.7

2.3
2.7
-0.4

10.3
10.4
0.0

32.1
34.1
-2.0

52.8
51.1
1.7

17.9
17.9
0.0

21.4
23.0
-1.6

34.9
34.6
0.3

13.7
14.1
-0.4

12.0
10.4
1.6

3.6
3.5
0.1

4.8
5.1
-0.2

19.2
19.2
0.0

31.9
34.2
-2.3

40.5
38.1
2.4

2.7
2.2
0.4

2.5
2.6
-0.2

15.4
15.8
-0.3

30.4
31.5
-1.1

49.0
47.8
1.2

Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-45

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 35f
Assessments of Payment Instruments: Security
Percentage of consumers
Very risky
Cash
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Check
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Debit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Credit card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Prepaid card
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Bank account number payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................
Online banking bill payment
Full panel.....................................
Longitudinal panel.......................
Difference....................................

Risky

Neither risky
nor secure

Secure

Very secure

33.5
34.0
-0.5

15.3
15.3
-0.1

13.0
14.3
-1.3

12.5
11.6
0.9

25.7
24.8
0.9

9.0
7.9
1.1

26.6
27.8
-1.2

25.1
25.1
-0.1

28.8
29.4
-0.6

10.5
9.7
0.8

9.8
8.8
1.0

22.5
23.5
-0.9

18.0
18.5
-0.5

35.8
37.0
-1.1

13.8
12.3
1.6

10.4
9.3
1.1

19.8
20.4
-0.6

16.7
16.3
0.4

35.7
37.7
-2.1

17.5
16.3
1.1

19.1
18.6
0.5

21.4
21.5
-0.1

26.9
27.2
-0.3

19.5
20.3
-0.8

13.1
12.4
0.7

22.1
21.1
0.9

25.8
25.8
0.1

16.8
18.5
-1.7

23.7
24.2
-0.5

11.6
10.4
1.2

10.9
8.9
2.0

19.5
20.1
-0.6

18.8
19.6
-0.7

32.9
34.6
-1.7

17.8
16.8
1.0

Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-46

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 35g
Assessments of Payment Locations: Security
Percentage of consumers
Survey year

Very
risky

Risky

Neither risky
nor secure

Secure

Very
secure

In person

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

1.0
0.6
0.4

2.0
2.0
0.0

8.8
9.7
-0.9

27.8
28.0
-0.1

60.4
59.8
0.6

Online

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

Mail

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

3.5
3.2
0.4

19.9
18.7
1.2

31.8
31.3
0.4

35.1
37.4
-2.3

9.7
9.4
0.3

Landline phone

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

4.6
3.8
0.8

18.4
18.2
0.3

30.6
30.8
-0.2

33.8
34.2
-0.4

12.6
13.0
-0.4

Laptop internet access

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

5.7
4.3
1.4

20.7
20.7
0.0

21.2
22.5
-1.4

40.5
42.0
-1.4

11.9
10.5
1.5

Laptop voice calling

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

11.6
9.6
2.0

35.2
35.9
-0.7

31.8
32.8
-1.0

17.1
17.1
0.0

4.3
4.5
-0.3

Mobile phone

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

na
na
na

Mobile phone internet access

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

11.4
10.5
0.9

33.2
33.8
-0.6

28.1
29.2
-1.1

22.4
21.8
0.7

4.9
4.8
0.2

Mobile phone voice calling

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

11.1
11.2
-0.1

32.4
32.3
0.1

28.8
29.1
-0.3

21.8
22.1
-0.3

5.9
5.4
0.6

Mobile phone texting

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

18.8
18.9
-0.1

40.1
39.6
0.5

25.7
25.9
-0.2

12.2
12.8
-0.5

3.2
2.8
0.4

Tablet internet access

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

8.4
7.0
1.4

27.8
27.8
0.1

30.6
31.8
-1.2

27.0
27.3
-0.3

6.1
6.1
0.1

Tablet voice calling

Full....................
Long..................
Difference.........

15.3
14.6
0.7

37.2
36.1
1.1

31.2
32.8
-1.6

13.3
13.8
-0.5

3.0
2.7
0.3

Notes: 1, 2, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-47

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 35h
Assessment of Debit Authorization Mode
Percentage of consumers
Neither risky nor
secure

Security

Very risky

PIN debit card
Full panel.........................................
Longitudinal panel...........................
Difference........................................

5.1
4.7
0.5

13.0
13.8
-0.8

12.7
14.0
-1.3

42.9
43.5
-0.6

26.3
24.1
2.2

Signature debit card
Full panel.........................................
Longitudinal panel...........................
Difference........................................

4.1
3.6
0.4

16.7
16.8
-0.1

24.7
26.7
-2.0

38.5
37.5
1.0

16.0
15.4
0.7

No PIN and no signature debit card
Full panel.........................................
Longitudinal panel...........................
Difference........................................

38.6
38.9
-0.3

36.2
36.5
-0.3

14.8
15.0
-0.2

6.5
6.2
0.3

3.8
3.3
0.5

Using a debit card online
Full panel.........................................
Longitudinal panel...........................
Difference........................................

20.0
19.5
0.4

36.3
37.2
-0.9

20.6
21.7
-1.1

18.3
17.5
0.8

4.8
4.1
0.7

Risky

Secure

Very secure

Notes: 1, 2, 4.

Table 35i
Preferred Way of Authorizing Debit Card Payments
Percentage of consumers

PIN...........................................................................................................
Signature...................................................................................................
Either one is fine/I'm indifferent...............................................................
Neither one/ I prefer not to enter a PIN or give my signature...................

Full

Long.

Difference

55.1
21.9
23.1
na

53.6
23.5
22.9
na

1.5
-1.6
0.2
na

Notes: 1, 2, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-48

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 36
Demographics: Gender, Age, Race, Ethnicity, and Education
Percentage of consumers, except where noted*
Full

Long.

Diff

234.4
2,065

234.4
2,065

—
—

Gender
Male........................................................................................................................
Female....................................................................................................................

48.1
51.9

48.1
51.9

0.0
0.0

Age
18–24......................................................................................................................
25–34......................................................................................................................
35–44......................................................................................................................
45–54......................................................................................................................
55–64......................................................................................................................
65 and older............................................................................................................

7.9
22.3
16.1
19.0
16.4
18.3

6.2
24.5
15.5
19.1
16.4
18.3

1.8
-2.2
0.6
-0.1
0.0
0.0

Race
White......................................................................................................................
Black.......................................................................................................................
Asian.......................................................................................................................
Other.......................................................................................................................

75.7
12.6
2.2
9.5

73.6
14.6
2.8
9.0

2.1
-2.0
-0.6
0.5

Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino..................................................................................................

17.6

14.3

3.3

Education
No high school diploma..........................................................................................
High school.............................................................................................................
Some college..........................................................................................................
College....................................................................................................................
Post-graduate study.................................................................................................

7.8
34.4
28.8
16.8
12.1

7.1
35.1
28.8
16.5
12.5

0.8
-0.8
0.0
0.3
-0.3

U.S. Population age 18 + older (millions)
Number of survey respondents

* Estimates are weighted. The table of unweighted sample demographics is available upon request.
Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-49

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 37
Income and Labor Force Status
Percentage of consumers*
Full

Long.

Diff

Household income
Less than $25,000...................................................................................................
$25,000–$49,999....................................................................................................
$50,000–$74,999....................................................................................................
$75,000–$99,999....................................................................................................
$100,000–$124,999................................................................................................
$125,000 or more....................................................................................................
$125,000–$199,999.............................................................................................
$200,000 or more.................................................................................................

23.7
24.5
18.4
13.4
9.1
10.9
8.0
2.9

22.9
25.2
18.7
13.2
8.8
11.1
8.1
3.0

0.8
-0.7
-0.3
0.2
0.2
-0.2
-0.1
-0.2

Respondent income
Highest in household...............................................................................................
About equal with highest.........................................................................................
2nd highest..............................................................................................................
3rd highest or lower................................................................................................

51.0
12.8
24.2
12.1

51.4
13.3
25.5
9.8

-0.5
-0.5
-1.3
2.3

Labor force status
Working now..........................................................................................................
Unemployed and looking for work†.......................................................................
Temporarily laid off, on sick or other leave............................................................
Disabled..................................................................................................................
Retired.....................................................................................................................
Homemaker.............................................................................................................
Other.......................................................................................................................

59.4
9.9
1.2
7.9
18.5
9.1
3.5

60.6
9.3
0.8
7.8
19.2
10.1
2.9

-1.2
0.7
0.4
0.1
-0.7
-0.9
0.5

* Estimates are weighted. The table of unweighted sample demographics is available upon request.
† The number for unemployment differs from the official BLS numbers because of differences between the ALP and the BLS in the
methodologies for collecting the data and computing the unemployment rate.
Notes: 1, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-50

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 38
Consumers' Financial Responsibility in the Household
Percentage of consumers

Budgeting
All............................................................................................................................
Most.........................................................................................................................
Shared equally.........................................................................................................
Some........................................................................................................................
None........................................................................................................................
Bill payment
All............................................................................................................................
Most.........................................................................................................................
Shared equally.........................................................................................................
Some........................................................................................................................
None........................................................................................................................
Shopping
All............................................................................................................................
Most.........................................................................................................................
Shared equally.........................................................................................................
Some........................................................................................................................
None........................................................................................................................
Asset management
All............................................................................................................................
Most.........................................................................................................................
Shared equally.........................................................................................................
Some........................................................................................................................
None........................................................................................................................
Saving and investing
All............................................................................................................................
Most.........................................................................................................................
Shared equally.........................................................................................................
Some........................................................................................................................
None........................................................................................................................
Other
All............................................................................................................................
Most.........................................................................................................................
Shared equally.........................................................................................................
Some........................................................................................................................
None........................................................................................................................

Full

Long.

Diff

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

51.2
7.5
15.3
9.9
16.0

52.9
7.6
15.0
9.4
15.1

-1.7
-0.2
0.4
0.5
1.0

40.0
14.2
21.9
15.2
8.7

38.6
14.7
22.8
15.3
8.5

1.3
-0.5
-0.9
-0.1
0.2

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

na
na
na
na
na

35.9
12.2
30.0
9.5
12.4

35.2
13.5
30.7
10.0
10.5

0.7
-1.4
-0.7
-0.5
1.9

37.3
12.9
29.4
9.7
10.8

36.8
14.6
30.2
9.9
8.5

0.5
-1.8
-0.8
-0.2
2.4

Notes: 1, 2, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-51

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
Table 39
Selected Assets and Liabilities
Percentage of consumers, except as noted
Full

Long.

Diff

Home ownership
Home ownership rate ..............................................................................................

61.3

65.3

-4.0
0.0

Credit card debt
Carried unpaid balance at any time during the past 12 months ..............................

36.9

38.9

-2.0

Mean credit card balance unpaid, previous month (dollars)
Per credit card adopter........................................................................................
Per adopter with unpaid balance.........................................................................

3,588
6,699

3,931
7,292

-342.7
-592.5

Median credit card balance unpaid, previous month (dollars)
Per credit card adopter........................................................................................
Per adopter with unpaid balance.........................................................................

46
2,910

84
3,114

-38.2
-204.3

Change in unpaid balance since a year ago
Much lower..........................................................................................................
Lower...................................................................................................................
About the same.....................................................................................................
Higher...................................................................................................................
Much higher.........................................................................................................

15.7
24.9
29.5
17.9
11.9

14.2
24.0
29.4
20.7
11.7

1.6
0.9
0.1
-2.9
0.2

Paid interest rate, card with largest balance
0%........................................................................................................................
0.01–5.00..............................................................................................................
5.01–10.00............................................................................................................
10.01–15.00..........................................................................................................
15.01–20.00..........................................................................................................
20.01–25.00..........................................................................................................
25.01–30.00..........................................................................................................
30.01–35.00..........................................................................................................
More than 35%.....................................................................................................
I don't know..........................................................................................................

10.5
5.3
19.6
23.1
19.9
10.7
4.4
0.1
0.1
6.4

10.8
5.5
20.1
24.0
19.1
9.8
4.3
0.2
0.1
6.0

-0.4
-0.2
-0.5
-0.9
0.8
0.9
0.1
-0.1
0.0
0.4

Notes: 1, 2, 4.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

Version of March 2015
T-52

©2008-2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston