Federal Reserve System: Related Links
2007, 2004, and 2001 Federal Reserve Payments Studies
The Federal Reserve Payments Studies are part of an ongoing effort by the Federal Reserve System to measure and analyze trends in noncash payments in the United States. The 2007 study consists of three individual studies: the Check Sample Study (2007 CS study), the Depository Institutions Payments Study (2007 DI study), and the Electronic Payments Study (2007 EP study). The 2004 and 2001 studies are also available below.
2007 Federal Reserve Payments Study - Summary Report 
- Electronic Payments Study - Detailed Report
- Depository Institutions Payments Study - Detailed Report
- Check Sample Study - Detailed Report
2004 Federal Reserve Payments Study - Summary Report
- Electronic Payments Study - Detailed Report
- Depository Institutions Payments Study - Detailed Report
2001 Retail Payments Research Project
Report to the Congress on Credit Scoring and Its Effects on the Availability and Affordability of Credit
Section 215 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (Fact Act) directs the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study how credit scoring has affected the availability and affordability of credit and insurance, to determine the relationship between credit scores and actual credit losses and insurance claims, and to determine how these relationships vary for the population groups protected under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). In addition, section 215 directs the Board and the FTC to study the extent to which the consideration of certain factors included in credit-scoring and insurance-scoring models could have a negative or differential effect on populations protected under ECOA and the extent to which alternative factors could be used in credit scoring to achieve comparable results with less negative effect on protected populations. In preparing the study, the Federal Reserve took the lead in assessing the effects of credit scoring on credit markets, the subject of the present document; the FTC took the lead in the area of insurance and has issued a separate report on the topic.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2007)
Credit Card Disclosures, Solicitations, and Privacy Notices: Survey Results of Consumer Knowledge and Behavior
Presents the results of surveys undertaken to assess consumers ’ knowledge of, familiarity with, and attitudes about credit card disclosures, credit card solicitations, and privacy notices received from their financial institutions.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2006)
Recent Changes in U.S. Family Finances: Evidence from the 2001 and 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances
This article analyzes changes in the financial condition of U.S. families between 2001 and 2004. It relies on data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, a triennial survey of the balance sheet, pension, income, and other demographic characteristics of U.S. families. It includes information about family credit card borrowing and usage behavior.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2006)
Recent Developments in the Credit Card Market and the Financial Obligations Ratio
Over the past fifteen years, U.S. households in the aggregate have devoted an increasing share of their after tax income to the payment of financial obligations. Much of the increase is attributable to a rise in the level of credit card debt, which has raised the share of households' aggregate after tax income that is devoted to credit card payments. This article argues that three important developments in the credit card market over the period account for most of the rise in credit card payments relative to income and played a strong role in the rise of the total financial obligations ratio (FOR).
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2005)
Trends in the Use of Payment Instruments in the United States
This article analyzes the results of two payments surveys conducted in 2004, one of depository institutions (the 2004 depository institution survey) and one of electronic payments networks, processors, and credit card issuers (the 2004 electronic payment survey). It also draws on the results of two similar surveys conducted in 2001.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2005)
Report to the Congress on the Disclosure of Point-of-Sale Debit Fees
This report presents findings by the Federal Reserve Board on the disclosure of fees that a depository institution imposes when a customer chooses to secure a point-of-sale (POS) debit transaction by providing a personal identification number (PIN). The economic importance of debit card transactions has grown steadily in recent years. In 2004, consumers in the United States will conduct an estimated 18.6 billion debit card transactions, an amount that represents approximately 53 percent of all card-based purchase transactions. Consumers will secure more than one-third of these debit transactions with a PIN and the remainder with a signature. Recently, some depository institutions have instituted a fee that applies when a consumer conducts a PIN debit transaction. Some members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs are concerned that consumers may be unaware of the existence or the source of these fees. To address this concern, committee members requested that the Federal Reserve Board conduct this study.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2004)
Credit Report Accuracy and Access to Credit
This paper examines the possible effects that data limitations
have on consumers by estimating the changes in consumers'
credit scores that would show up in their credit records.
It also investigates whether different patterns emerge when
individuals in the sample are grouped by strength and depth
of credit history and selected demographic characteristics.
Such segmentation allows the determination of whether the
effects of data limitations differ for various subgroups
of the population.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2004)
U.S.
Consumers and Electronic Banking, 1995-2003
This article draws on data from two nationwide surveys to
look at consumers' use of e-banking technologies, particularly
as it relates to consumer demographic characteristics and
perceptions, and the relationship between these factors
and the characteristics of selected e-banking products and
services. The article examines changes in consumers' use
of e-banking technologies between 1995 and 2003, a period
of substantial change and growth in the electronic financial
services marketplace, and shifts in perceptions in recent
years. It concludes with a discussion of the implications
of trends in the use of e-banking for consumer educators.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2004)
Recent
Changes in U.S. Family Finances: Evidence from the 1998 and 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances
This article analyzes changes in the financial condition
of U.S. families between 1998 and 2001. It relies on data
from the Survey of Consumer Finances, a triennial survey
of the balance sheet, pension, income, and other demographic
characteristics of U.S. families. It includes information
about family credit card borrowing and usage behavior.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2003)
A Guide
to the ATM and Debit Card Industry
The ATM and debit card industry is undergoing significant
change. Some of the most dramatic changes include the sharp
growth in point-of-sale debit card transactions, the intense
competition between online and offline debit, the heavy
consolidation of regional EFT networks and third-party service
providers, the growing importance of nonbank and third-party
processor ownership of networks, and new pricing structures
and strategies. This paper provides a guide to the current
structure of the ATM and debit card industry. It also highlights
some key economic and public policy issues. Among the issues
addressed are market concentration, vertical integration
and economies of scope, pricing, access, and risk.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Payments System Research (2003; updated 2006)
Nonbanks
in the Payments System
Nonbanks have always been a key component of the nation’s
payments system. In recent years, however, nonbanks have
become even more prominent. This heightened visibility raises
several questions. What payments activities are nonbanks
engaged in? What roles do nonbanks play in specific payments
types? What types of risk are potentially associated with
nonbank participation? This paper begins to address these
questions. Preliminary findings include: (1) Nonbanks are
involved in a myriad of activities and roles, both in traditional
and emerging payments types; (2) Nonbank business relationships
with banks and other participants in the payments systems
are often highly complex and interrelated; (3) Nonbanks
are rarely directly involved in settlement activities and,
hence, appear to be associated with limited settlement and
systemic risk; (4) Both nonbanks and banks appear to be
increasingly susceptible to operational risk factors.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Payments System Research (2003)
An
Overview of Consumer Data and Credit Reporting
For some time, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System has sought to obtain more detailed and timely information
on the debt status, loan payment behavior, and overall credit
quality of U.S. consumers. For decades, information of this
type has been gathered by credit reporting companies primarily
to assist creditors in evaluating the credit quality of
current and prospective customers. To evaluate the potential
usefulness of these data, the Federal Reserve Board engaged
one of the three national consumer reporting companies to
supply the credit records, without personal identifying
information, of a nationally representative sample of individuals. This article describes the way the credit reporting companies
compile and report their data and gives background on the
regulatory structure governing these activities. This description
is followed by a detailed look at the information collected
in credit reports. Key aspects of the data that may be incomplete,
duplicative, or ambiguous as they apply to credit evaluation
are highlighted in the analysis. The article concludes with
a discussion of steps that might be taken to address some
of the issues identified.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2003)
FFIEC
Agencies Issue Guidance on Credit Card Account Management
and Loss Allowance Practices
Under the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions
Examination Council, the Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation, and the Office of Thrift Supervision
have issued guidance governing account management and loss
allowance practices for credit card lending.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2003)
The
Future of Retail Electronic Payments Systems: Industry Interviews
and Analysis
To understand the implications of developments in electronic
payments and to gather more information about barriers to
payments innovation, the Federal Reserve's Payments System
Development Committee asked Federal Reserve staff to hold
discussions with a broad range of parties interested in
the evolution of the payments system. Special attention
was given to issues involving the clearing and settlement
of retail electronic payments. Part 1 of the following report
provides an informative overview of the diverse opinions
expressed in the discussions. Part 2 summarizes and provides
further information, where possible, on specific comments
and recommendations made by those interviewed. These comments
and recommendations are directed at both the public and
private sectors.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2002)
The
Use of Checks and Other Noncash Payment Instruments in the
United States
Statistical estimates indicate that the use of checks in
the United States has been declining since the mid-1990s,
even as the population and level of economic activity have
been increasing. In contrast, the use of electronic payments
has been growing at high and accelerating rates. Nonetheless,
the paper check remains the predominant means of making
retail payments and will likely continue to play a significant
role in the U.S. payment system for the foreseeable future.
The number and value of checks paid vary across depository
institutions according to type, size, and location, in part
as a result of differences in the use of checks and electronic
payments by households, businesses, and governments. Overall,
household's share of total checks written has increased
relative to that of businesses and governments.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2002)
Retail Payments Research Project
In 2001, the Federal Reserve conducted the fist authoritative
study in 20 years of the nation's retail payments system.
Three studies were commissioned: two examined checks and
one collected data on electronic payment instruments. A
revised version of the original Retail Payments Research
Project Report is now available.
Federal Reserve System (2002)
The
Profitability of Credit Card Operations of Depository Institutions
Section 8 of the Fair Credit and Charge Card Disclosure
Act of 1988 directs the Federal Reserve Board to transmit
annually to the Congress a report about the profitability
of credit card operations of depository institutions. This
is the 12th report. The analysis here is based to a great
extent on information from the Consolidated Reports of Condition
and Income (Call Report) and two Federal Reserve surveys,
the Quarterly Report of Credit Card Interest Rates and the
Survey of Terms of Credit Cards Plans.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (2002)
Survey
of Consumer Finances
The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a triennial survey
of the balance sheet, pension, income, and other demographic
characteristics of U.S. families. The survey also gathers
information on the use of financial institutions.
Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (Various Years)
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