Digital payments reshape American transactions as cash usage declines sharply

The way Americans pay for things has changed more in the last decade than in the previous fifty years.

Cash's share of U.S. payments has fallen sharply over the past decade, dropping from 31% of all transactions in 2016 to around 16% by 2024.

From tapping a phone at the checkout to sending money instantly across the country, the expectations consumers bring to financial transactions have fundamentally shifted, and the industry is moving fast to keep up.