PURCHASE, N.Y. – A survey by MasterCard International, the nation's second most popular card brand, has found that increasing numbers of consumers use debit cards tied to their checking accounts to pay recurring bills. "Consumers continue to embrace debit cards as a convenient, effective, hassle-free way to make purchases, access cash worldwide, and now increasingly to pay recurring bills," said Richard G. Lyons, Jr., Senior Vice President with MasterCard International. "The noticeable rise in debit card recurring payments reflects the peace-of-mind in knowing that bills will be paid on time, via a fast and secure deposit account deduction, without added postage, handling or stressful check clearing delays." The survey found that 26% of all U.S. households now link automatic payments to a debit card, a 30% increase since 2000. The survey also found that cardholders who adopted their cards in recurring transactions used their cards for almost half of their automatic payments and that 48% percent would consider using debit cards for additional recurring payments. Further, 62% of cardholders said they are less likely to change their financial institution relationship if recurring payments are linked to their debit card.