Federal Reserve releases 2019 noncash payments data

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday published detailed noncash payments data from the 2019 Federal Reserve Payments Study (FRPS). The additional data, estimated from surveys covering 2012 through 2018, supplement the noncash payments overview provided by the top-line data released in December 2019.

The FRPS 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 14.0 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 percent per year, steeper than the previously reported 7.2 percent per year decline. The estimated decline in the value of checks is revised to 2.8 percent per year, less steep than the previously reported 4.0 percent 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.