Electronic payments surpass cheques in US

The number of electronic payment transactions totalled 44.5 billion in 2003, while the number of cheques paid totalled 36.7 billion. However, the Fed said the value of all cheques paid in 2003 was about $39.3-trillion, more than the $27.4-trillion in electronic payments. The Fed said its figures came from surveys of US depository financial institutions and electronic payments organisations. The most recent prior research by the Federal Reserve - for the year 2000 - found that the number of cheques paid that year was 41.9 billion transactions, compared with 30.6 billion electronic payments. Electronic payments included those by credit cards, debit cards and direct payments from banks. The report found the use of cheques has been declining at a rate of 4.3 percent from 2000 to 2003 while use of electronic payments has been gaining 13.2 percent for the same period.