US Payment Transactions Projected to Exceed 100 Billion in 2009

Economic research firm Moebs Services projects that, for the first time in US history, the number of checks and electronic transactions for debit cards, credit cards and automatic payments will exceed 100 billion by the end of 2009 from all transactions from consumers and businesses. Moebs based its projection on research and projections using information from the Federal Reserve for 1979 to 2006.

"Based on current transactions, our projections show that debit cards and automatic payments are taking over at an increasingly rapid rate from the traditional checking account for most Americans," says Mike Moebs, CEO. "Over the past 30 years, paper check usage has dropped from 85 percent of all transactions to less than 25 percent this year." Credit card usage while increasing in an absolute sense is falling as a percentage of total transactions after rising for 25 years, added Moebs.
According to Moebs Services, transactions in 2009 will break down as follows:
Debit card transactions, 33 percent
Paper checks, 24 percent
Credit card transactions, 23 percent
ACH payments, 20 percent
"What is noteworthy about the projected 100 billion transactions is that they do not represent an increase in US consumer spending, which began declining in 2008 and is still not back on track as we approach year-end," said Moebs. "This research indicates that consumers are doing significantly more transactions for significantly fewer dollars than in the past. This may be due to easy electronic as payment methods replacing cash."

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