HOUSTON -- U.S. consumers now are using their ATM and debit cards for purchases at supermarkets, gas stations and other electronic point-of-sale terminals more than twice as often as they withdraw cash at ATMs, according to a new national study of 1,000 debit card users commissioned by the Pulse EFT Association.
Results of the survey, conducted by Analytica, Inc. during November and December 2002, show that during a three-week period, ATM and debit card users used their cards an average of 10.92 times. Of those transactions, 7.81 times were to make a purchase at a retail location, compared to 3.11 times to withdraw cash at an ATM.
Stan Paur, Pulse president and chief executive, said that the study documents the increasing popularity and growth of the use of ATM/debit cards at POS terminals.
"It is clear that the ease and convenience of using debit cards is prompting consumers to migrate to POS with increasing momentum," he said.
In a significant secondary finding, the study showed that the behavior of 61 percent of consumers who have utilized their cards to make a purchase was not affected by signage on display. More than half said that if a merchant accepts ATM or debit cards, they assume their own card will work so they do not pay attention to any network signs or symbols.
An additional 10 percent indicated they would try to use their card even if there was signage at the POS terminal but none of the symbols matched those on their card.
"The presence of a specific network mark on a POS terminal is becoming less important, particularly to younger and more frequent users of debit cards," Paur said.
Other survey findings:
- ATM and debit card users surveyed utilized their cards an average of nearly four times a week.
- The average 7.81 POS transactions recorded in a three-week period were closely divided, with 4.06 PIN-based, and 3.75 signature-based transactions conducted.
Paur said that the latest study confirms the growing prevalence of electronic payments in the lives of today's consumers.
"ATM and debit cards are more and more becoming tomorrow's cash and checks," he said.
The Pulse network alone recorded almost 4 million ATM and POS transactions on Christmas Eve and 88 million for December 2002, both all-time records.
