A new survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association found that a strong majority of U.S. consumers are happy with their credit cards and do not want the government to interfere with their card’s rewards programs. The survey, unveiled on the second day of ABA’s 2025 Washington Summit, also gauged consumers’ views on debit interchange fees paid by retailers.
Ninety-four percent of consumers said that they value the convenience of using their credit cards, and 8 in 10 (80%) have at least one credit card that offers rewards, according to the survey. Nine in 10 (91%) said they value the rewards program on their credit cards, and nearly two-thirds (63%) of consumers say they would be disappointed to lose the rewards program on their credit cards due to government regulatory changes, a potential threat in the current Congress. By an overwhelming margin (74% agree vs. 8% disagree), consumers believe merchants and retailers get significant benefit from being able to accept credit cards for payment.
“This new survey data makes one thing crystal clear – consumers greatly value their credit cards and the rewards programs that come with them and don’t support heavy-handed government actions that could take them away,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “Legislative initiatives to expand the power of the federal government to intervene in the U.S. credit card market such as the Durbin-Marshall bill introduced last Congress would only reduce consumer choice while increasing costs and fraud risks. Congress should continue to reject this flawed legislation and listen to consumers.”
Consumers Want Retailers to Take Responsibility for Accepting Card Payments
U.S. adults overwhelmingly believe that retailers should be responsible for the costs associated with accepting credit card and debit card purchases. By a 5-to-1 margin (66% vs. 13%), consumers say that retailers should pay for the convenience and infrastructure to offer customers the ability to use a credit or debit card for purchase, as opposed to those who say retailers should charge customers for using a credit or debit card. Two-thirds (66%) are less likely to shop at a retailer or restaurant if they add a surcharge for using a credit or debit card. In addition, 7 in 10 (69%) said they would oppose lowering debit interchange fees for retailers if it meant banks would have to increase fees for checking accounts.
“Consumers are well aware that America’s large retailers benefit greatly from accepting card payments and are willing to take their business elsewhere if retailers try to make them shoulder the cost,” said Nichols. “Year after year, the story is the same. Merchants do not want to pay their fair share for the many benefits our modern payments system affords them including secure, guaranteed payment, customer convenience, faster checkout, and lower fraud costs. And even after the Federal Reserve imposed a price cap on debit interchange rates, merchants and retailers failed to lower prices for their customers at the register.”
ABA released an accompanying infographic highlighting some of the survey results. The data released today is the latest in a series of results gauging U.S. consumers’ preferences and opinions regarding banks and their services. ABA recently released additional survey data showing that a strong majority of Americans value overdraft protection and want it to remain an option, as well as data revealing that Americans are happy with their bank and the options available to them, view banks as a source of strength for the economy, trust banks most to protect them from fraud and more. The full results for today’s survey questions are as follows:
When asked “How much do you value each of the following? — The convenience of using your credit card(s),” consumers provided the following answers:
- A lot – 67%
- Some – 27%
- Not much – 4%
- Not at all – 1%
- Don’t know/no opinion – 1%
When asked “Do you have at least one credit card that offers rewards (e.g. cash back, airline miles, etc.)?” consumers provided the following answers:
- Yes – 80%
- No – 14%
- Don’t know/no opinion – 6%
When asked “How much do you value each of the following? — The rewards program on your credit card(s),” consumers provided the following answers:
- A lot – 52%
- Some – 39%
- Not much – 7%
- Not at all – 2%
- Don’t know/no opinion – 2%
When asked “How disappointed would you be to lose the rewards program on your card(s) due to government regulatory changes?” consumers provided the following answers:
- Very disappointed – 38%
- Somewhat disappointed – 25%
- Not too disappointed – 13%
- Not at all disappointed – 9%
- Don’t know/no opinion – 14%
When asked “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Merchants and retailers get significant benefit from being able to accept credit cards for payment,” consumers provided the following answers:
- Strongly agree – 29%
- Agree – 45%
- Disagree – 6%
- Strongly disagree – 2%
- Don’t know/no opinion – 18%
When asked “Should retailers pay for the convenience of customers using a credit or debit card as part of their cost of doing business or should they charge customers for using a credit or debit card?” consumers provided the following responses:
- Retailers should pay for the convenience and infrastructure to offer customers the ability to use a credit or debit card for purchases – 66%
- Retailers should charge customers for using a credit or debit card for purchases – 13%
- Don’t know/no opinion – 21%
When asked “Would you be more or less likely to shop at a retailer or restaurant if they add a surcharge for using your credit or debit card?” consumers provided the following responses:
- Much more likely – 9%
- Somewhat more likely – 13%
- Somewhat less likely – 32%
- Much less likely – 34%
- Don’t know/no opinion – 13%
When asked “Would you support or oppose lowering debit interchange fees for retailers if it meant banks would have to do each of the following? – Increase fees for checking accounts,” respondents who have a bank account provided the following responses:
- Strongly support – 7%
- Somewhat support – 10%
- Somewhat oppose – 23%
- Strongly oppose – 46%
- Don’t know/no opinion – 14%
About the Survey
This poll was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association from March 21-23, 2025, among a national sample of 4,475 adults split into two representative groups for specific question sets (Split Sample A n=2,274 | Split Sample B n=2,203). The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.