Abstract
This Financial Insights report provides a five-year forecast of the
number and dollar value of checks written in the United
States, segmented into consumer checks written at the point of
sale (POS); other consumer checks, including those written for bill
payment; business checks written to other businesses (B2B); and business
checks written to consumers for disbursements such as payroll and
benefits. These checks may be processed as paper, or (predominately)
processed in the form of image documents or automated clearinghouse
transactions.
Checks are in decline, but showing resilience in the face
of maturing alternatives such as debit cards and ACH. Image
exchange has achieved critical mass, and will become nearly universal
in the next five years, allowing financial institutions to realize
greater benefits from their image technology investments. However, the situation
could change if high fraud rates, acceptance of electronic payments,
or bank policies on funds availability push corporate customers away
from checks. Thus, financial institutions need to keep a close
eye on transaction flows, and develop profitable alternatives to check
products.
According to Aaron McPherson, practice director at IDC Financial Insights,
"Financial institutions need to be more creative in how they
use image exchange technology, moving beyond simple automation of existing
processes into development of new products and services, such as
consolidated payment front ends."
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