Key takeaway: Streaming and other subscription spend keeps pulling share away from one-time, out-of-home purchases. As a result, payments providers and subscription merchants should expect dispute volume tied to recurring billing to grow in step. This makes clear billing descriptors, easy cancellation flows, and proactive dispute deflection increasingly important parts of the subscription business model.
More than 17% of U.S. payment cards are being used to fund streaming subscriptions. It outnumbers the roughly 6% of cards associated with cinema and concert spending combined, according to new research from Visa Business and Economic Insights (VBEI).
Visa published the findings on September 14, 2026, as part of a broader report on what it calls the couch economy — a shift toward shopping, streaming, dining, and managing everyday life from home. The research draws on anonymized VisaNet transaction data across six markets: Australia, Brazil, Poland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Streaming subscriptions appeared on a larger share of cards than cinema and concert spending in every market studied, not just the U.S., though the 17%-versus-6% figures cited are specific to the U.S. market.
The streaming-versus-cinema gap sits inside a wider pattern of digital commerce displacing in-person spending. Visa’s research found the share of U.S. domestic payment volume happening online or in-app rose from 48% in 2019 to 58% in 2026, with similar or larger jumps in Poland (10% to 24%) and the UAE (35% to 55%).
Wayne Best, chief economist at Visa, said the rise of the couch economy reflects a broader shift in consumer behavior that goes well beyond e-commerce, with consumers increasingly prioritizing convenience through digital channels, subscription services, and delivery platforms. Mohamed Bardastani, principal CEMEA economist at Visa, added that the same convenience-driven patterns are showing up across markets globally, not just in any single region.
Why it matters: Recurring, card-on-file spending like streaming subscriptions carries a different risk profile than one-off purchases. As a larger share of the card base shifts from occasional entertainment purchases to always-on subscriptions, merchants and issuers face more recurring-billing volume. And with it, more of the dispute and friendly fraud exposure that tends to concentrate around subscription charges consumers forget about, don’t recognize on a statement, or want to cancel after the fact.