Electronic payments catching up with checks.

• Position: News Briefs

A new study by the Federal Reserve reveals that check writing is decreasing in relation to electronic transactions as a proportion of non-cash payments. In the first comprehensive study of the retail payments system by the Federal Reserve in 20 years, checks declined from approximately 85 percent of non-cash payments in 1979 to about 60 percent today. Of the 80 billion annual retail payments, 50 billion are made by check and 30 billion by electronic instruments, including credit cards, debit cards, and ACH transactions. Although checks are still the dominant form of non-cash transactions, the migration from check to electronic instruments is accelerating--a...