Most people keep only one card saved in their phone wallet

A phone wallet can hold several cards, but most people use it for one. A PYMNTS Intelligence survey found that 54% of mobile wallet users keep only one payment method in the wallet they use most. For card companies, that means the contest for your business is often decided when you add a card, not at the store.

What the survey found

The October 2026 report is called "Apple Pay @12: Mobile Wallets Gain Ground, but Most Shoppers Still Tap a Card." It surveyed 2,458 U.S. consumers. The results cover wallet users broadly, including people who use peer-to-peer apps such as Venmo and Cash App, not only Apple Pay users.

Another 5% have several methods saved but always use the default, which is the option shown first. Only about 4 in 10 users switch between saved methods. With no second card saved, there is nothing to choose from.

Age makes a difference

Older users are more likely to keep a single method. Among baby boomers and seniors who use wallets, 65% have only one saved, compared with 49% of Gen Z users. That is a gap of 16 percentage points.

Even so, nearly half of the younger group has just one method saved. The findings describe the wallet people use most, not every wallet or payment account they own.

When people pick a card

The report also looked at 820 users who have several saved methods and do more than use the default. Their choices break down this way:

• 40% choose their saved method before checkout.
• 27% choose at checkout.
• 21% decide before and at checkout equally.
• 12% do not plan the choice.

So an offer that appears only on the payment screen may reach many people after they have already decided how to pay.

Why rewards are not enough

Rewards clearly matter to people. In the survey, 70% of wallet users said they were likely to use the card that earns the most rewards. But that stated preference sits next to the fact that most wallets hold only one method.

The report suggests banks have an earlier job to do. Before they can win more wallet purchases, they need customers to save another card so a choice exists.

What to do

If you have a rewards card, check whether it is saved in your phone wallet. Adding it is the step that lets you use it when you tap to pay.