https://www.atlantafed.org en-us https://www.atlantafed.org https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2026/02/09/payments-mix-you-dont-need-until-you-move Mon, 09 Feb 2026 13:40:00 EST From hunting for the checkbook in packed boxes, to nervously carrying around an envelope of cash, each transaction during a recent move made clear the advantages and disadvantages of different payment methods. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2026/02/02/promise-of-digital-identities-access-and-crime-prevention Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:49:00 EST New Atlanta Fed research explores how digital ID systems could increase financial access while protecting consumer privacy. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2026/01/12/why-do-businesses-still-use-paper-checks Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:46:00 EST Data from the Federal Reserve’s 2024 Payments Insight study reveal how payment preferences shift dramatically with company size showing an inverse relationship between firm size and check usage. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/11/17/conversations-with-hundreds-of-depository-institutions Mon, 17 Nov 2025 11:37:00 EST Of the nearly 3,800 financial institutions surveyed in the Federal Reserve Payments Study, Tom Ciafone, payments expert, interviewed around 1,000 representatives to learn what issues are top of mind. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/09/22/from-gadgets-to-gas-pumps-the-evolution-of-payment-interfaces Mon, 22 Sep 2025 12:00:00 EST From gadgets to gas pumps, payments may be disappearing into our devices. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/09/16/deadline-request-for-information-on-addressing-payments-fraud Tue, 16 Sep 2025 10:00:00 EST The payments fraud survey closes Thursday, September 18, 2025. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/08/18/payments-study-gathering-data-from-thousands-of-depository-institutions Mon, 18 Aug 2025 10:00:00 EST The Fed's Depository and Financial Institutions Payments Survey collects and reports on noncash payments data safely and securely. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/08/04/earmarking-in-programmable-payments Mon, 04 Aug 2025 10:00:00 EST An old-school budgeting idea may be making a comeback when combined with modern technology and programmable payments. This post explores how "earmarking" could be the simple solution for complex payment situations. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/07/07/innovations-in-payments-acceptance-play-out-in-consumer-check-use Mon, 07 Jul 2025 10:20:00 EST This week's post explores the factors contributing to the decline in consumer check use for bill pay and person-to-person transactions. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/06/16/rise-of-embedded-and-invisible-payments Mon, 16 Jun 2025 10:00:00 EST This post considers the shift away from card-present transactions and toward digital transactions with embedded and invisible payment experiences. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/06/02/by-the-numbers-decline-in-consumers-use-of-paper-checks Mon, 02 Jun 2025 10:00:00 EST Data from the Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice reports that more than 90 percent of consumers preferred other ways to pay over paper checks money orders ranked as even less popular. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/05/19/more-us-consumers-use-cash-than-any-other-way-to-pay Mon, 19 May 2025 14:13:00 EST Traditions live on: Most consumers used cash to pay at least once over any other payment instrument only one third used a paper check. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/03/18/data-from-federal-reserve-payments-study-shows-pace-of-payments-accelerating Tue, 18 Mar 2025 12:15:00 EST Recent growth rates reported in the Federal Reserve Payments Study (FRPS) for automated clearing house (ACH) transactions and person-to-person (P2P) payments via depository institution websites show speedy payments out-pacing slower transaction methods. Same-day ACH debit transfers grew 39 percent and credit transfers grew by 21 percent per year by value from 2018 to 2021. Compare that to non-same-day ACH transactions, where growth in value was reported in single digits. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/03/10/business-use-of-wires-grew-sharply-from-2018-to-2021 Mon, 10 Mar 2025 07:30:00 EST The 2021 data released by the Federal Reserve Payments Study (FRPS) show that wires, ACH credit transfers, and checks are used more by businesses than by consumers. And, as expected, average values of business payments exceed those of consumer payments. https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/take-on-payments/2025/03/03/counterfeit-cards-persist-is-magstripe-to-blame Mon, 03 Mar 2025 07:30:00 EST Counterfeit card fraud in the UK has fallen to the lowest levels ever reported, but the US hasn’t seen the same success. This post looks at why.