STATISTICS, FACTS, & SUCH

The banking industry last year apparently negotiated $31 million worth of checks for people no longer alive. The Social Security reported it issued those checks to deceased beneficiaries who were listed as dead their own electronic files. Associated Press

Federal Reserve processed about 17 billion checks in the year 2000. This is a decline of 0.5% from the almost 18 billion in 1999. It's the first time Fed processed less checks than in the previous year since 1994. POS debit volume went up 30% in 2000. NACHA, Aug. 16, 2001

Fed handles between 25% to 30% of the checks processed nationally. The rest are on-us, business-to-business, merchant-to-bank, or bank-to-bank. Rich Oliver, Sr. V.P., Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

It costs a utility or other company an estimated $1.50 to $2 to deal with a customer's paper bill each month. Online, the cost would be one-third to one-half that amount. Pete Sinisgalli, President, CheckFree Corp., Norcross, GA, interview with AP, 6/28/01

An estimated 7.5 million American households are now using Internet services for some or all of their payments. This could increase to some 21 million households by 2004. Forrester Research of Cambridge, Mass

In order to switch to the new Euro currency, on January 1, 2002, 50 billion new coins and 14.5 billion banknotes worth $578 billion will be available and in circulation. Even more cash in 12 different currencies must be collected from around the world and returned to the central banks of each nation. AP, 8/5/01

An estimated $20 million in cash moves every week from Arizona, Texas, and California by domestic money transmitters, and ground transportation to smuggle the cash across the border to Mexico. This method bypasses international wire transfers, and launderers know that cash shipments headed south encounter little scrutiny at the border because Customs and immigration inspectors almost always focus on northbound traffic. Money Laundering Alert, www.moneylaundering.com, 8/22/01

Copyright © 2001 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 11, No. 9, 9/01