Debit card use is on the rise

Globe Staff

Debit card use is rising while credit card use is declining for every day spending, said TD Bank, which has a big presence in the Greater Boston market.

According to the TD Bank Checking Poll, 69 percent of consumers in the Northeast use their debit cards for daily purchases.

"It is clear from this survey that checking accounts are more important in these tough economic times, since customers are using credit cards less and their debit cards, online banking, and cash more,” Nandita Bakhshi, TD Bank's head of deposit products, said in a statement.

A TD Bank press release described the survey's methodology: "The TD Checking Poll was conducted online by Angus Reid Public Opinion among consumers with checking accounts in the Northeast Census region, Florida, and Washington DC. Fieldwork was competed March 19-31, 2010. The total sample size includes 1,499: 1,255 consumers in the Northeast, 100 consumers within Washington, D.C., and 144 consumers within Florida. Sample size of 1,499 has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent."