Fed Data: Checks continue decline; ACH & card payments surge
ACH has finally overtaken checks as the dominant form of payment.
For the first time, the number of ACH debit transfers has exceeded the number of check payments, according to a new Federal Reserve study.
The data, released this month, showed that there were 16.6 billion ACH debit transfers in 2018 but only 14.5 billion check payments. Back in 2000, the story was much different: the year’s 2.1 billion ACH debit transfers paled in comparison to its 42.6 billion check payments.
However, the number of check payments has declined rapidly, falling 7.2% per year from 2015 to 2018. That rate was in line with drops between 2003 and 2012, but it was more than twice the 2.8% annual drop recorded over the prior three years.
“The growth of payments using debit and credit cards and the automated clearinghouse (ACH) system continued to accelerate from 2015 to 2018, while check payments continued their long-run decline,” the Federal Reserve noted in a press release.
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