ACH Transactions: Statistics Don't Lie!
ACH Transactions: Statistics Don't Lie!
The character of the payments system in the United States has changed and the trend toward electronic transactions has been gathering steam. Just since 1993 the total ACH volume has increased 7,458 million units, while 25 billion fewer checks have been written. The number of companies using the ACH Network has risen from 300,000 in 1993 to 4.5 million today. And according to NACHA, consumers are employing electronic payments in escalating numbers as well.
The following statistics, culled from NACHA and FDIC reports, all paint the same picture. While some of the numbers relate specifically to Fed activity and others pertain to the entire system, the momentum toward electronic transactions is building.
ACH Stats
- In 2003, more than 10 billion ACH payments totaled 27.4 trillion dollars, representing an increase of 12% over 2002.
- ACH volume increased by 12.1% in 2003 to 5.59 billion payments.
- ACH payments originated by commercial financial institutions rose to 9.09 billion, valued $24.6 trillion, in 2003. This is an increase of 12.9 % from 2002.
- The Federal government originated a total of 924 million ACH payments valued at $2.8 trillion in 2003 (up 3.5 %).
- Collectively, the five consumer ACH debit applications (WEB, ARC, POP, TEL, RCK) accounted for 1.3 billion e-check payments. This is a 154 % increase over 2002, and represents 13.1% of all ACH payments in 2003.
- The number of Direct Payments in 2003 remained steadily at 2.8 billion, but the average dollar value increased by 14 %.
- EDI (financial electronic data interchange) on the ACH network grew by 19.5 % in 2003.
- 630 million EDI-formatted remittance records were exchanged in 2003 over the ACH network.
- The total number of business-to-business ACH payments grew to 1.7 billion in 2003, up by 8.4 % over 2002, valued at $19.7 trillion, accounting for 71.7 % of all dollars moving via ACH Network.
Now on to some numbers relating to checks. As above, this data is gathered from multiple sources, but the trend is unmistakable.
Check Stats
- NACHA states from 1992 to 2002, check writing decreased with ACH transactions increasing over the same time period (with a compound annual growth rate of 13.5 %)
- And the unit cost to the Fed to process a check in 2003 increased by 13.3 % (from 4.5 cents in 2002 to 5.1 cents in 2003), whereas the cost to process an ACH decreased by 15.4 % (1.3 cents in 2002 to 1.1 cents in 2003).
- In 2003, the Federal Reserve processed 15.81 billion checks. This is a 4.7% decline from 2002 and the fourth consecutive year for a decrease.
- Banks must adapt their processing techniques and what they offer consumers as these changes are underway , inevitably leading to more consumer use of electronic payments.
- In 2000 there were 42.5 billion checks written in the US.
- In 2001 the number declined to an estimated 40.2 billion checks.
The statistical data included in this article are derived from:
NACHA 2004:
Check Volume Decreases at Federal Reserve For Fourth Consecutive Year. National Automated Clearing House Association.
Ten Billion ACH Payments in 2003, NACHA Announces. National Automated Clearing House Association.
NACHA Issues 2003 "NACHA Top 50" Lists of Originating and Receiving ACH Financial Institutions.National Automated Clearing House Association
FDIC-Future of Banking Report. The Impact on U.S. Banking of Payment-System Changes
First published on BankersOnline.com 6/15/04
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