The survey, carried out by Mercator Advisory Group and sponsored by the National Payment Card Association, has shown that the addition of a mere $10 monthly fee could drive most consumers to stop using their debit cards for regular day-to-day payments and force them to start looking for other payment alternatives, the main one being cash. The study has also revealed that women are more likely than men to halt their card usage and that more than three quarter of individuals with incomes totaling over $75,000 would stop using their debit cards across all store types.
The study was designed to examine the effect that fees and rewards would have on everyday purchase payment decisions at the point-of-sale with specific focus on the use of debit cards.