In a payment universe where credit cards get all the attention for their rewards, fees and promotional offers, one payment type is quietly inspiring billions of swipes a year.
Debit cards, which are linked to checking accounts and typically don’t earn rewards, were used for 100.7 billion payments and generated $4.7 trillion in transactions in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent report on debit card transactions. Compared to 2020 and 2021, transaction volume and dollar amounts grew more than 4 percent but lagged behind previous years’ growth.
