While the U.S. has moved from paper payments to electronic payments over the last two decades, changes in consumer preferences have not been as sudden and dramatic as many people assume.

This is a key finding from a new report, "US Consumer Payments Trends Summary," commissioned by ATMIA and conducted by Tremont Capital Group.

"Cash remains the most frequent form of consumer payment in in the United States and I suspect will remain so for a long time to come," said Sam Ditzion, CEO of Tremont and author of the study.

"One of the myths of the payments industry is that 'sexy' new payments methods are rapidly replacing more established kinds of payments and forms of money," said ATMIA CEO Mike Lee. He added that the study "decisively dispels this myth, replacing it with an immutable truth that changes in payments behavior happen over decades, not years."

The study is free for ATMIA members and will be added to the association's Market Intelligence Library and online cash repository.