B2B Payments: A Gradual Shift from Checks to Electronic Payment Methods

As a result of these trends in B2B payment methods, check’s share of the number of B2B payments fell significantly, from 32 percent in 2015 to 13 percent in 2024. In contrast, the share of ACH payments increased significantly, from 25 percent to 41 percent during the same period. The share of debit card payments slightly increased, from 13 percent to 17 percent, while the shares of credit card and wire payments barely changed, at nearly 30 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Figure 2 shows that despite the decline in the number of B2B payments made via check, the estimated (nominal) value of B2B check payments (light blue line) in the United States has barely changed, from $15.4 trillion in 2015 to $15.0 trillion in 2024. In contrast, the value of ACH payments (dark purple line) nearly doubled, from $36 trillion in 2015 to $70 trillion in 2024. Although the values of both credit card (green line) and debit card (dark blue line) B2B payments also nearly doubled, from $0.9 trillion to $1.6 trillion and from $0.2 trillion to $0.4 trillion, respectively, these values have been significantly smaller compared with those of ACH and checks. The value of B2B payments made via wire (dotted line) has been the largest by far and has increased significantly, from $820 trillion in 2015 to $1 quadrillion in 2024.

In contrast to the distribution in number of B2B payments made across payment methods, the distribution in value has changed only slightly. Wire has accounted for most of the value of B2B payments, and its share declined by only 2 percentage points, from 94 percent in 2015 to 92 percent in 2024. The ACH share increased from 4 percent to 6 percent during the same period. Check’s share scarcely changed, from 1.8 percent in 2015 to 1.4 percent in 2024, while both credit and debit card shares remained nearly zero.

Using the estimated number and value of B2B payments, we calculate the average transaction size of B2B payments for each payment method. Table 1 shows that the average transaction size varies significantly by method. Wire transactions for B2B payments are by far the largest on average, at nearly $3.2 million per payment in 2024. Average ACH and check transactions are similar in size: $8,084 and $5,577 per payment, respectively. In contrast, average transactions for both credit and debit cards are similar in size though much smaller: $275 and $119 per payment, respectively.

Table 1: Average Transaction Size of B2B Payments in 2024 Significantly Varies by Method

Sources: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Federal Reserve Financial Services, Nacha, Nilson Report, the Clearing House, and authors’ calculations

The differences in average transaction size may be explained in part by each payment method’s fee structure and level. For check, ACH, and wire payments, businesses on both the sending and receiving sides of the payment are assessed a per-transaction fee that is the same for all transactions regardless of value. Among these payment methods, ACH has the lowest per-transaction fee, with a median fee of $0.25 to $0.50 for both sending and receiving organizations, followed by check, with a median fee of $1 for sending organizations and less than $1 for receiving organizations. Wire has a higher per-transaction fee than ACH and check, with a median fee of $7 each for both sending and receiving organizations (AFP 2022a). In contrast, for credit and debit card payments, receiving organizations are typically assessed a per-transaction fee that is a percentage of the transaction’s value, while sending organizations are assessed a very low or even negative fee (the latter in the form of rewards). The median fee for a receiving organization is between 2.0 percent and 2.5 percent for credit cards and between 1.0 percent and 1.5 percent for debit cards. As a result, for receiving organizations, the per-transaction fee for a credit or debit card transaction becomes higher than the fee for a wire transaction when the transaction size exceeds about $300 for credit cards and around $500 for debit cards. Because of these differences in fees, businesses may send via wire larger-value payments for which immediate settlement is valuable, and they may limit their use of credit and debit cards to smaller-value payments since receiving organizations may decline to accept medium- or large-value credit and debit card payments. ACH (which involves settlement delays and limits on transaction size) may be a close substitute for check, as both methods are used for medium-value payments.

Check use by businesses for B2B payments

The decline in the number of B2B payments made by check could result either from businesses’ ending check use or from businesses’ using checks less frequently. Available industry studies suggest that the latter may explain more of the decline than the former. According to the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), 91 percent of businesses reported that their organizations used checks in 2024; by 2025, this share slightly declined by 4 percentage points to 87 percent (AFP, 2025; AFP, 2026). The AFP study suggests many businesses, nearly 90 percent, still use checks for at least some of their B2B payments.

The AFP also conducts a triennial study to understand the B2B payments landscape, and this allows us to examine whether the share of payments made by check has changed across types of businesses (AFP, 2013; AFP, 2016; AFP, 2019; AFP, 2022b; AFP, 2025b). Through a series of surveys, the study obtains an organization’s share of B2B payments made or received by check and calculates the average share by organization type. The results suggest that both smaller and larger businesses significantly reduced their check use relative to their use of other payment methods from 2013 to 2025, implying that the decline in the number of B2B payments made via check stems primarily from many businesses’ using checks less frequently. However, to what degree businesses reduced their check use varies by type of organization. Smaller businesses previously used checks relatively more than their larger counterparts, but this difference has diminished more recently. The left side of Figure 3 shows the average shares of B2B payments made with checks for smaller businesses (blue bar) and larger businesses (purple bar). In 2013, the average share was significantly higher for smaller businesses (those with annual revenue less than $1 billion) than larger businesses (with annual revenue at least $1 billion), 63 percent versus 40 percent, respectively. Since then, however, the share of payments made by check has declined faster for smaller businesses than for larger businesses, and the difference in small versus large businesses’ share has narrowed. Indeed, in 2025, the share of check payments made by smaller businesses dropped below the share made by larger businesses: 24 percent versus 27 percent, respectively. Similarly, the right side of Figure 3 shows that while the average share of B2B payments received via check was higher for smaller businesses than for larger businesses, the difference had almost disappeared by 2025.

Summary

Over the past decade, US businesses have shifted from checks to electronic methods, especially ACH, to make B2B payments. Check was the most used method for B2B payments in 2015 but has ranked fourth since 2021. Despite the decline in number of check payments, the nominal value of check for B2B payments has barely changed and continues to rank third, after wire and ACH. The decline in the number of B2B check payments has resulted mainly from businesses’ using checks less frequently rather than ending their use of checks entirely. Indeed, nearly 90 percent of businesses still used checks in 2025.