US Payment Preferences Show Clear Divide Between Mainstream Adoption and Emerging Technologies

According to S&P Global’s recent Voice of the Customer survey, digital wallets have firmly established themselves as a mainstream payment method while stablecoins and AI-powered spending tools face significant consumer skepticism.

Digital Wallets Reach Critical Mass

A striking 67% of US consumers report using digital wallets for online purchases in the past 90 days, with 45% using them weekly. This adoption is particularly strong among younger generations:

  • Gen Z: 91% usage rate
  • Millennials: 85% usage rate
  • Older cohorts show significantly lower engagement

PayPal leads the online digital wallet market at 62%, while Apple Pay dominates in-store payments at 43%. Consumers primarily link debit cards (64%) to their wallets, valuing ease of checkout as the key adoption driver.

Crypto and Stablecoins Struggle for Traction

In contrast, cryptocurrency adoption remains limited:

  • 68% have never engaged with crypto in any form
  • Only 16% see crypto as the future of finance
  • Even among Gen Z and millennials (the most digitally native groups), engagement is modest

Stablecoins face an even greater trust deficit, with awareness at only 16%. Among those who are aware:

  • 40% find them appealing
  • 40% do not
  • 20% remain undecided

The primary barriers to stablecoin adoption include concerns about fraud (48%), safety of funds (46%), and a perception that they’re unnecessary (39%). This suggests regulatory clarity alone won’t drive adoption unless issuers address these trust issues.

Contactless Payments Become Standard, AI Faces Resistance

Contactless payments have become the default for most consumers:

  • 65% own tap-to-pay cards
  • 58% prefer contactless transactions in person
  • 38% say contactless capability has increased their card usage

However, online payment preferences remain mixed, with manual card entry narrowly outpacing digital wallets (31% vs. 29%).

Regarding emerging technologies, consumers expressed strong caution about AI-powered payments:

  • Nearly 47% would completely prohibit AI from making purchases on their behalf
  • Even among younger generations, openness is limited
  • Those who would accept AI involvement overwhelmingly prefer approval-based or recommendation-only systems

These findings suggest that payment firms investing in agentic AI features will need to prioritize consumer consent architecture and transparency if they hope to expand beyond niche early adopters.