Electronic payments in the US exceed check payments, says Federal Reserve survey

Surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve confirm that electronic payment transactions in the US have exceeded check payments for the first time. The number of electronic payment transactions totalled 44.5 billion in 2003, while the number of checks paid totalled 36.7 billion, according to recent surveys of US depository financial institutions and electronic payments organizations.

Previous research by the Federal Reserve found that the number of checks paid in 2000 was 41.9 billion transactions, compared with 30.6