Fed supplemental data from 2019 shows faster decline in check payments, slower decline in value; more

Detailed noncash payments data from the 2019 Federal Reserve Payments Study (FRPS) shows that the number of check payments from 2015-2018 declined at a faster pace than reported last December but that the decline in their value was also less steep, the central bank said Thursday.

The Fed said its detailed data release includes new information about core noncash payments and some evolving areas of payments in the United States:

  • The estimated number and value of checks for 2018 are revised to 14 billion and $26.8 trillion, respectively. As a result, the estimated decline in the number of checks from 2015 to 2018 is revised to 8.2% per year, steeper than the previously reported 7.2% per year decline. The estimated decline in the value of checks is revised to 2.8% per year, less steep than the previously reported 4.0% per year decline.
  • Use of alternative payment methods and services continues to grow. For example, according to estimates from processors, the number of payments via person-to-person and money transfer services more than doubled from 2015 to 2018.
  • Wire transfers originated by consumers grew at double-digit rates by both number and value from 2012 through 2018.

The FRPS Detailed Data Release includes data from the Networks, Processors, and Issuers Payments Surveys (NPIPS) and the Depository and Financial Institution Payments Survey (DFIPS), the Fed said. NPIPS is a collection of surveys, each conducted as a census of the applicable organizations, including card networks and processors and issuers of core and alternative payment methods and services. DFIPS is a survey of a representative sample of insured depository institutions of different sizes and types that process payments.

Federal Reserve Board publishes detailed noncash payments data from the 2019 Federal Reserve Payments Study

RR: Fed: Use of card, ACH payments grew faster from 2015-2018 than in previous period (Dec. 19, 2019)