STRATEGIC PARTNERS
April 15, 2002
DALLAS -- Annual transaction volume on the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network increased by more than one billion payments for the first time in 2001, according to statistics released by NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association at its Payments 2002
conference.
The volume of ACH payments in 2001 exceeded 7.99 billion, up 16.2 percent from 2000. The value of these payments was $22.2 trillion, representing a 9.2 percent increase.
ACH payments include direct deposit of payroll, Social Security benefits and tax refunds, direct payment of consumer bills, business-to-business payments, federal tax payments and
e-check and e-commerce payments.
ACH payments increased across all of these categories, according to a news release.
The number of direct deposits in 2001 increased by 11.6 percent over 2000, from 3.3 billion to 3.7 billion payments. The value of these deposits was more than $4 trillion, an average of $1,110 per direct deposit.
The number of direct payments, a pre-authorized debit that is typically used for recurring bills such as mortgages, loans, utilities and charitable contributions, in 2001 totaled 2.6 billion, a 17.6 percent increase over 2000. The value of these payments was $1.6 trillion, an average of $631.
Use of the ACH network for corporate payments, which include business-to-business payments, cash management transfers, government vendor payments and federal tax payments, increased from 1.2 billion transactions in 2000 to 1.4 billion in 2001, an 11.9 percent increase. The value of these payments was more than $16.3 trillion, an average of $11,812 per payment.
Financial electronic data interchange (EDI), the electronic exchange of payments and payment-related information or documents in standard EDI formats between business partners, increased from 129 million payments in 2000 to 143 million in 2001, a 10.8 percent increase. Use of EDI addenda records, the payment-related remittance information that accompany payments, increased by 17.0 percent, from 353 million EDI records in 2000 to 413 million in 2001.
More than 200 million e-check payments, an electronic debit to a consumer's checking account that is initiated at the point-of-sale, on the Internet, over the telephone or via a bill remittance sent through the mail, were made in 2001. In 2001 there were 88.7 million e-checks originated at the point-of-sale, 74.6 million originated on the Internet, and 8.7 million originated via the telephone.
In addition, NACHA statistics also show that 23.2 million re-presented check entries, a returned consumer check that is re-presented for payment electronically rather than through the paper check collection system, were processed through the ACH Network.
According to a report of NACHA's Next Generation ACH Task Force, also presented at the Payments 2002 conference, annual payment volume over the ACH network is expected to double by 2006.
For the past 10 years, NACHA's annual growth rate has averaged 15 percent, according to the report, which also indicates that growth rates will continue at 15 percent or higher for the next five years, reaching more than 15 billion payments annually by 2006.
