Customers, Sales and Marketing · Trend
Payments are becoming more digital: keep options that work for your customers
Cards and digital channels matter more, but cash still matters. Observe payment difficulties before buying a new system.
Content updated: 10/11/2026What is changing?
Euro area and US studies show the importance of cards and digital payment channels in everyday purchases. Cash use is declining, but people still need the option to use it. For a business, the practical task is to understand payment difficulties rather than force every customer into one method.
How do we know?
The European Central Bank (ECB) reports that cash fell from 59% of physical point-of-sale transactions in the euro area in 2022 to 52% in 2024. It remained the most common method. A July 2026 Federal Reserve release reports that US noncash transactions increased in 2024; cards accounted for over three quarters of them. Noncash totals also include cheques, so they are not entirely digital. The two studies’ percentages cannot be combined.
Who is affected, and how?
For staff at the till, the benefit is distinguishing an equipment problem from a connection or training issue. For an owner, it is identifying what needs fixing before paying for a new terminal or contract. A failed payment attempt is not always a lost sale: the customer may have paid another way.
What can I do?
For a week, keep an anonymous tally of the requested payment method, the problem and how the purchase ended. Aim to identify the most frequent difficulty and one next step to investigate it. Check possible fixes with your existing payment provider before assuming new equipment is needed.
Situation: At a bakery, some customers tap their phones on the payment terminal, but payment does not complete. Before deciding to buy a new terminal, staff keep an anonymous tally for one week.
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An illustrative entry might read: “Phone payment / Terminal did not respond / Customer paid by card.” This records a difficulty, not a lost sale. No names, phone numbers or card details are recorded. Small trial: The owner takes these notes to the existing payment provider. Does the terminal support this method? Is there a connection problem or a missing step staff need to know? They try an appropriate provider-recommended fix on a small scale, while keeping cash and other existing options available. Decision: On days with similar demand, they review failed attempts alongside total transactions. They distinguish purchases completed another way from purchases not completed. If problems persist, they investigate further; if a new service is needed, they compare fees. The first goal is to identify the cause. This is a fictional trial plan, not a reported sales improvement.
Evidence and limitations (2)
ECB — SPACE 2024 ↗
Cash fell from 59% to 52% of point-of-sale transactions; cards rose from 34% to 39%.
Euro area · Consumer payments · Euro area consumers; country samples and weighting are documented in the report.
Survey and payment diary, comparing 2024 with the earlier round.
Source published: 2024-12-19 · Data period: 2022 — 2024 · Observed findingFederal Reserve — 2025 Payments Study, initial findings ↗
Noncash transactions rose to 236.6 billion in 2024; cards accounted for over three quarters by number, while cheques declined.
United States · Consumer and business payments · Depository institutions, card networks and major processors; respondent count not given in this release.
Aggregate estimates from voluntary institutional surveys; triennial study with annual supplements.
Source published: 2026-07-01 · Data period: 2000 — 2024 · Observed findingUncertainties: Euro area consumer payments differ from US consumer and business noncash transactions. Noncash totals include cheques, so they are not wholly digital. Directions can be discussed but levels cannot be compared directly. Today’s research date is not the data period.
Türkiye interpretation (inference): Interpretation for Türkiye: observing your own customers may be useful; these sources do not establish a Turkish adoption rate.
Last evidence check: 10/11/2026