Consumer Payment Trends Developing in 2024

Thought Leadership / May 28, 2024

Softpos 10

To maintain a competitive edge today, businesses must take a hard look at their customers and understand their needs, especially when it comes to payment acceptance. It is more important than ever for merchants to offer payment experiences that match consumer expectations.

Based on a recent TSG survey, commissioned by Discover® Global Network, we uncovered 15 key trends shaping consumer payment behaviors. These findings not only provide a snapshot of current behaviors but also offer predictions on how these trends may evolve.

How Consumers Want to Pay

This report helps businesses understand:

  • Payment Methods Use: What methods are consumers using today? What methods do they feel are most commonly accepted? How do they like to pay in-store and online?
  • Online Purchasing: What purchase channels do consumers prefer? Are they happy with their experiences online?
  • Travel Trends: What payment options do consumers prefer while traveling? How can traveling change payment preferences?
  • Fraud and Security: Is today’s consumer concerned about payment fraud? Have they experienced payment fraud?
  • The Rest of 2024: What payments technologies are consumers growing comfortable with? What implications does this have?

By staying ahead of these developments, companies can better cater to the needs of today’s consumers, ensuring a payment experience that is both seamless and secure.

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Methodology

The international survey of 700 English-speaking consumers ages 18 and over was commissioned by Discover and conducted between December of 2023 and January 2024 by TSG (The Strawhecker Group), a fast-growing analytics and consulting firm. The maximum margin of sampling error was +/- 5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The results were based on consumers’ self-reported payments behavior and preferences as well as their age, gender, and location.

  • This report is based on TSG’s Consumer Payments Trends survey commissioned by Discover® Global Network.
  • Fielded Q4 2023—Q1 2024
  • 700 total respondents
  • Markets surveyed included North America (Canada, U.S.) and Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Sweden, United Kingdom).