Retailers are embracing alternative payment methods, though cards are still king

“Will that be cash or credit?” Those familiar words have probably been uttered at stores and restaurants billions of times over the last 50 years or so. But today, cashiers could ask, “Will that be cash or credit … or Apple Pay or Google Pay or Venmo or PayPal?” And if they aren’t saying it already, they might soon tell customers, “You can also participate in a buy now, pay later service — we offer Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna. And if you prefer to pay with cryptocurrency, we accept bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether …”