Several publications have been reporting on data that Mercator announced last week as a result of the consumer survey conducted that provides insights regarding usage, experience and attitudes around debit cards in the US market. One publication, The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, picked up on two important topics and trends, the first is the decrease in debit card use by the millennial age group:
Debit card usage is flat for most of the general population. The difference is small — 59% of Americans use debit to buy vs. 56% of young adults. But if you are in the business of getting people to spend with debit, losing young people should be a concern.
Also reported is the finding that account controls are gaining appeal. This comes as a result of increased fraud activity where card controls could help to contain unauthorized usage and it also reflects the overall awareness of these services.
“The survey finds 42% of all consumers expressing an interest in mobile-based account controls for debit cards to avoid fraud and control their spending (a finding with little change since our 2014 survey),” Mercator said in a press release. “Young adults are especially interested in this mobile feature (55%, up from 48% in 2014), even more showing interest this year. Notably, people who have debit cards but choose not to use them (51%) are more likely than debit card users (43%) to be interested in this feature.
Member access or information about this report can be found here:
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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