COLUMBUS, Ga. (10/19/15)--Debit cards continue to be at the top of consumers’ wallets for payments, but alternative methods are gaining on them, according to the fifth annual U.S. Consumer Payment Choice Study from TSYS.

TSYS--a credit card processor, merchant acquirer and financial institution credit card issuer--surveyed more than 1,000 consumers who owned a debit card and a credit card for the 2015 report.

Preference for debit dropped to 41% from 43% compared with 2014 findings, while credit remained stable at 35%. TSYS found online methods such as PayPal and even traditional cash have cut into debit usage.

The report noted that overall consumers prefer to use debit when making everyday purchases, credit when shopping online or making discretionary purchases, and cash when making small-dollar payments.

Other key findings:

• Thirty-eight percent feel cash is the safest form of payment for in-store purchases followed by credit at 27% and debit at 24%;
   
• Loyalty and rewards programs such as cash back and discounts are attractive to more than 50% of credit card holders. More than 40% found fraud protection and card security such as EMV chips and tokenization valuable features of rewards programs;
   
• More consumers are interested in using mobile phones to manage finances instead of making purchases, and 54% would like the ability to use their phone to stop a transaction they did not make; and
   
• Fifty percent of respondents said that they have installed their financial institution’s mobile app, 60% have installed the Amazon app and 52% have installed PayPal’s app.