WASHINGTON–Consumers wrote nearly two-thirds fewer checks per household in 2015 than in 2000, while total noncash payments per household, which includes not only checks but also card payments and electronic transfers via the automated clearinghouse (ACH) system, expanded almost 95%, according to additional results released today from the 2016 Federal Reserve Payments Study.
The number of checks written per household fell from 19.3 per month in 2000 to 7.1 in 2015, while total noncash payments increased from 40.3 to 78.6 per month, reflecting fundamental shifts in consumer behavior such as changes in shopping, purchasing, and bill payment habits, the Fed said. At the same time, businesses also increasingly replaced check payments with other noncash payments.
Among the other highlights in the Fed report:
- Businesses wrote 24.1 checks per month, on average, in 2015 compared with 66.0 per month in 2000.During the same period, ACH transfers by businesses rose to 29.8 per month, on average, from 13.4. The value of business ACH transfers and business checks written increased substantially, reaching $148.5 trillion in 2015—more than double the total value of business and consumer ACH transfers and checks written in 2000.
- The aggregate ranking in 2015 of the number of noncash payments by payment type differed substantially for consumers and businesses. The use of non-prepaid debit cards was the most popular payment type among consumers, followed by general-purpose credit cards, checks, and ACH debit transfers. For businesses, ACH credit transfers were the most popular, followed by checks, general-purpose credit cards, and non-prepaid debit cards.
- New data on consumer general-purpose credit card spending shows that about 60% of all accounts and just over 76% of all balances included at least some debt revolving between statement periods. Correspondingly, about 40% of all consumer accounts and just under 24% of all consumer balances were being paid off, or had no current spending, on average across the months in 2015.
- Growth in selected alternative payment initiation methods and services, such as payments initiated via a mobile device, payments made through specialized services for person-to-person payments, and payments using online payment authentication methods, was strong from 2012 to 2015.Compared to the total number and value of noncash payments, however, the total number and value of payments using these methods remains low.
Numerical estimates of the number and value of noncash payments from the 2016 study are available in a downloadable data table format to facilitate customized review and analysis. Both the report and data tables may be found at:https://www.frbservices.org/communications/payment_system_research.html.