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Wincor Nixdorf survey finds U.S. consumers not eager to give up checkbooks

November 7, 2011

Despite the tremendous growth of debit cards, electronic payments and direct payroll deposits, a nationwide consumer survey reveals that most Americans are not only hesitant to give up their checkbooks, but more than 90 percent of us still write at least some checks every month. Additionally, more than a third of respondents believe there will always be a need to write checks.

The consumer survey was conducted by Wincor Nixdorf Inc., a provider of ATMs and intelligent deposit solutions and total IT solutions for the banking and retail industries. Of the responses, 56.5 percent answered that they write one to five checks every month; 21.4 percent write six to 10 checks each month; 8.4 percent write 10 to 15 checks; and 5.3 percent still write more than 15 monthly checks. Another 8.4 percent responded that they never write checks.

And while more than 95 percent of the adult consumers polled indicated they receive payroll by direct deposit, 60.6 percent indicated they receive one to five checks every month; 37.9 percent receive no checks.

Of those writing checks, the greatest number (23.1 percent) said they use checks to pay for their utilities. Mortgage and rent payments came in second (15.7 percent), and auto repair and service payments ranked third (10.3 percent).

The survey also showed a growth in the availability of intelligent, envelope-free ATMs among banking consumers, as well as a similarly expanding trend of consumers making use of the automated ATM deposit technology.

More than half (51.7 percent) of those surveyed said that their banks offer ATMs that provide for envelope-free deposits. And more than a third (34.4 percent) stated they regularly utilize envelope-free ATMs to make their banking deposits. The remaining 13.9 percent were fairly evenly divided between making deposits at bank branch teller windows, drive-up windows, off-premise ATMs and other methods.

"When Wincor Nixdorf first introduced deposit automation for ATMs several years ago, we anticipated it would be rapidly accepted based on the technology's ability to deliver superior security and a better overall banking experience for the consumer," said Alan Walsh, vice president of Wincor Nixdorf's U.S. banking division. "The high number of survey respondents who regularly deposit checks via envelope-free ATMs demonstrates this rapid adoption, yet also shows there is still room for growth within the banking industry."

As for how often American consumers deposit the checks they receive, the findings suggest most tend to act quickly. Approximately 17.8 percent of respondents said they deposit their checks as soon as they receive them; 51.2 percent make check deposits within a few days; 9.3 percent make check deposits weekly; 4.7 percent deposit monthly; and 17 percent make deposits whenever they can find the time.

Lastly, more than a third of consumers (33.3 percent) stated they do not believe a time will come when they will never need their check books.