July 25, 2014 - The 2013 Federal Reserve Payments Study Detailed Report, released today, provides new information on the payments landscape including updated results on the intensity of card use by consumers and businesses; further discussion of previously released information on third-party payments fraud; new estimates of over-the-counter cash withdrawals and deposits at bank branches and wire transfers made by businesses and consumers; and discussion of emerging and alternative payments likely to replace traditional payments such as cash and checks.

The study is the fifth in a series of triennial survey efforts, collecting data for 2012 and including, for the first time, a broader view of trends by incorporating some information from earlier studies. Today's report also provides comprehensive tables containing the various estimates produced from the data collected, detailed descriptions of estimates produced from each survey effort, the methodology used to conduct each survey and, in a few instances, revisions to data published in December.

As in previous studies, the estimates reported are based on information gathered in three survey efforts: the 2013 Depository and Financial Institutions Payments Survey (DFIPS), the 2013 Network, Processors and Issuers Payments Surveys (NPIPS), and the 2013 Check Sample Survey (CSS). The Federal Reserve partnered with McKinsey & Company and Lieberman Research Group, as its subcontractor, on the DFIPS, and with Blueflame Consulting and MH Consulting, as its subcontractor, on the NPIPS. McKinsey & Company reviewed a large random sample of images for the CSS. The information collected in each survey is combined with information about payments trends from previous studies and then analyzed and adjusted for seasonality to produce comprehensive estimates not available in other studies.