Market Analysis: U.S. Check Transaction 2009-2013 Forecast and Analysis

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."