Payment growth looks different depending on what is measured. The Federal Reserve’s December 19, 2019 study found that core noncash payments—debit cards, credit cards, ACH transfers and checks—grew 6.7% per year from 2015 to 2018, compared with 5.1% per year in the prior three-year period. Those are annual rates for separate periods, not a 6.7-point jump. [shared-116e705ad33d7c5c65d688626989ecc2786689b466059d0086accc39cb8935f7]
Cards made up 75.3% of core noncash payments by number in 2018, but 7.3% by value. Their payment count grew 8.9% annually from 2015 to 2018. The gap is a reminder that transaction counts and dollars measure different things; neither share alone establishes which payment method is cheaper or more convenient for users or merchants. [shared-116e705ad33d7c5c65d688626989ecc2786689b466059d0086accc39cb8935f7]
ACH credit and debit transfer counts grew 6.0% annually over 2015–2018. Check counts fell 7.2% annually to 14.5 billion in 2018, dropping below ACH debit transfers for the first time. The figures describe a changing mix of payment activity, not the costs, access or competitive outcomes behind it. They cover 2015–2018 and cannot establish what happened afterward. [shared-116e705ad33d7c5c65d688626989ecc2786689b466059d0086accc39cb8935f7]