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Fed releases initial insights into payments study
The Federal Reserve Friday issued initial insights from the 2022 Federal Reserve Payments Study – a triennial review of payments data from 2018-2021. Of note, the value of core noncash payments increased 9.5 percent per year over the period – the fastest rate than in any previous study measurement period since 2000.
In addition, the study found:
- the increase in the value of ACH transfers accounted for more than 90 percent of the rise in noncash payments value from 2018 to 2021;
- the number of ATM cash withdrawals dropped substantially during the study period – falling 10.1 percent per year;
- the value of check payments increased slightly (0.6 percent per year) despite a significant drop in the number of check payments over the three years; however, by number, checks declined at a rate of 7.2 percent per year since 2018, dropping to 11.2 billion; and
- the increase in the number of card payments accounted for more than 84 percent of the growth in the number of noncash payments from 2018 to 2021. With 157 billion payments in 2021, card payments accounted for approximately 77 percent of noncash payments by number.
NAFCU is active on payments issues with the Fed, lawmakers and regulators. The Fed is set to launch its FedNow service – which will allow participating credit unions the ability to send and receive real-time payments – in July; NAFCU has long supported the Fed’s involvement as an operator of a new, real-time payments rail. The association also continues to advocate against efforts to further cap interchange fees and to extend Regulation E liabilities related to peer-to-peer payment scams.