BROOKFIELD, Wis.—The long-time love affair between U.S. consumers and paper checks continues to cool, with roughly 38% of Americans reporting they’ve stopped using them entirely, a figure that rises to 50% among Millennials, Pymnts.com reported.
Anne Evers, vice president of prepaid and disbursements at Fiserv, told Pymnts.com the power of paper disbursements has been waning in the past few months amid COVID-19—even with disbursement payments from government agencies and merchants.
“Technology and consumer demand have been moving payouts toward digital in recent years, and well over half of consumers receiving a payout want an electronic option,” she said. “Payroll has been trending toward electronic distribution for some time. Consumers [want] electronic access to their funds that is easily accessible and frictionless.”
Evers said that desire has only become more pointed as consumers have been homebound due to COVID-19 and are looking for digitized solutions to help them complete everyday tasks. Some 70% of consumers report wanting an instant payout option (defined as within five seconds), while 44% say they’re willing to pay a small fee to access their money instantly and electronically, Pymnts.com said.