MIND YOUR BUSINESS
(BPT) - Close to 2 in 5 Americans (38%) say cash feels more "real" than digital money: It's a tangible reminder of value, and remains a permanent part of their financial toolkit (27%). Yet, new Empower research shows that in practice, physical dollar bills may be fading from daily life: 1 in 5 say they use cash only a few times per year, and just 18% use it daily. Still, a quarter often find themselves in situations where they wish they had cash on hand.
Its popularity may be dictated by what's going on in the economy, as a quarter (25%) view cash as a "safety net" currency in times of financial downturns, and 1 in 5 Americans have increased their physical cash holdings in the past year due to market uncertainty.
Cash in a digital age
While a third (35%) say they are mostly cashless, for close to 1 in 5 Americans (19%), dollar bills remain a trusted form of payment - something they actively use and keep in significant amounts. Overall, 40% of people feel
safer keeping some cash on hand in case of emergencies or tech outages.
Nearly a quarter say they use cash for privacy (21%) in an AI-driven, digital world. The same amount also turn to cash when they want to limit their spending for the day (24%). A third say they're more likely to make impulse purchases with digital payments (33%), and spend more without the natural guardrail of cash (27%).
With the shift toward digital payments (e.g., debit cards, credit cards, mobile wallets, etc.), 27% say they are more likely to pay bills and save automatically. More than a quarter have better awareness of their spending patterns (27%) and spend less because they can track everything digitally (22%). Close to 1 in 5 admit that if cash disappeared, they'd spend less (17%).
Currency in action
The average person holds between $51 and $100 in their "wallet," consistent with the $66 cash average from last year's study. Gen X is the only
New Study: 38%
of Americans
Say Cash Feels
More 'Real' Than Digital Money
Article by BPT Website