Payment Processing Fact Sheet
U.S. Payment Processing Statistics 2026
A sourced reference for card payments, merchant fees, cash use, ACH, checks, e-commerce, and surcharge rules. Last updated July 6, 2026.
The Federal Reserve counted 236.6 billion U.S. noncash payments in 2024, up 31.9 billion from 2021.
Federal Reserve Payments Study, released July 2026Card payments reached 187.7 billion transactions and $11.50 trillion in value in 2024.
Federal Reserve Payments Study, released July 2026Nilson Report said U.S.-issued credit, debit, and prepaid cards generated $12.498 trillion in purchase volume in 2025, up 5.0% from 2024.
Nilson Report, March 2026What the numbers say
The short version: card payments keep taking more of the transaction count, but merchants still have to manage cash, ACH, checks, mobile wallets, online payments, and card-rule details. For a local business, the useful question is not "cards or cash?" It is how the full payment mix affects checkout speed, margin, customer trust, and monthly processing costs.
Card Payment Use
Debit card payments reached 120.6 billion transactions in 2024, up 13.8 billion from 2021.
Federal Reserve Payments Study, released July 2026Credit card payments rose to 67.1 billion transactions in 2024, an increase of 16.2 billion from 2021.
Federal Reserve Payments Study, released July 2026Credit cards accounted for 54.54% of total U.S. card purchase volume in 2025, according to Nilson Report.
Nilson Report, March 2026Consumer Payment Behavior
Consumers made an average of 11 payments per month with a mobile phone in 2024, up from four in 2018.
2025 Diary of Consumer Payment ChoiceMore than 90% of U.S. consumers said they intend to use cash as either a payment method or store of value in the future.
2025 Diary of Consumer Payment ChoiceMerchant Costs And Business Payment Choices
The National Retail Federation said U.S. businesses paid $198.25 billion in credit and debit card swipe fees in 2025.
National Retail Federation, 2026In a Federal Reserve business payments study, 52% of businesses said they encourage credit card use.
Federal Reserve Business Payments Study, 2024The same study found 47% of businesses said they encourage ACH use.
Federal Reserve Business Payments Study, 2024ACH, Checks, Cash, And Surcharge Rules
ACH payments reached $104.06 trillion in value in 2024, representing 74% of noncash payment value.
Federal Reserve Payments Study, released July 2026Check payments fell to 9.2 billion by number in 2024, or 4% of noncash payments by number.
Federal Reserve Payments Study, released July 2026The average ATM withdrawal reached $210 in 2024, up from $134 in 2015.
Federal Reserve Payments Study, released July 2026Visa says U.S. merchants intending to surcharge must notify their acquirer at least 30 days before starting.
Visa U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q&AMastercard lists its maximum surcharge cap at 4%, while also tying surcharge levels to the merchant's cost of credit acceptance.
Mastercard merchant surcharge rulesMastercard says merchants must clearly disclose surcharging practices and include the dollar amount of the surcharge on the customer receipt.
Mastercard merchant surcharge rulesMethodology and sources
This fact sheet uses public data from the Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Financial Services, the Federal Reserve Payments Improvement business study, the U.S. Census Bureau, Nilson Report, National Retail Federation, Visa, and Mastercard. Every statistic links to the source used. Where a source is an advocacy organization or card network, the source is named directly so readers can judge context.
Suggested citation: JustOneCall.tech, "U.S. Payment Processing Statistics 2026," last updated July 6, 2026, https://justonecall.tech/payment-processing-statistics.
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