Years ago, many experts predicted that paper checks would have disappeared by now. Yet checks remain a significant part of the U.S. payments system, with billions still written each year.

The reason is not simply nostalgia. Businesses continue to value checks, and many Americans still use them for practical reasons. The broader picture shows a payment method that has declined sharply but remains important in specific settings, especially where recordkeeping, fees or existing payment habits matter.

Jay L. Zagorsky, an associate professor of business at Boston University and an academic advocate for the use of cash, said he had long emphasized the benefits of paper money but had not given paper checks much attention until his mother’s recent death. Afterward, he found himself writing checks to a cemetery, funeral home, gravestone engraver and several other businesses. He also began receiving refund checks from her landlord and insurance companies.

Those experiences led him to examine more closely why paper checks continue to be used.

Fewer checks, larger amounts

Every three years, the U.S. government conducts the Federal Reserve Payments Study, which asks banks and credit unions to provide internal payment information. The survey tracks a wide range of payment activity, including credit card usage and the number of checks written.

The data show that check usage in the United States has fallen steeply. Even so, about 9.2 billion checks were written in 2024. Their total face value exceeded US$24 trillion, not adjusted for inflation, a figure close to U.S. gross domestic product of $29 trillion that year.

Put in per-person terms, a little more than 150 checks were written per person in 2000. By 2024, that figure had dropped to 27 checks per person, or slightly more than two per month. At the same time, the amounts written on checks increased.

In 2000, the typical check was worth less than $1,000. By 2024, the average amount had more than doubled to $2,600. That combination — fewer checks but larger average amounts — helps explain why checks can look outdated in everyday shopping while still carrying substantial value through the financial system.

Similar trends have appeared outside the United States. The Bank for International Settlements, which acts as a bank for central banks such as the Federal Reserve, has tracked check usage in 25 countries since 2012. Its data show that payment by check remains commonplace in only two other countries. In both, check usage has declined more sharply than in the United States.

Who still writes checks?

Although check payments have declined, two major groups in the United States continue to write them.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta conducts the Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice, which asks consumers directly about their payment habits rather than relying on bank data. Roughly one-third of respondents said they had used a paper check in the previous 30 days.

The responses vary significantly by age. About 60% of people aged 65 and older said they wrote a check. Among people aged 18 to 24, fewer than 6% said they did.

Many consumers who believe they never write checks may still be using them indirectly. When a customer pays bills online, a bank first attempts to make the payment electronically. If electronic payment is not possible, the bank issues a paper check on the customer’s behalf. Any online bill payment that takes more than a couple of business days to post is being sent by check.

Small businesses are another major source of check use. More than 80% of businesses with sales between $1 million and $10 million make payments using checks. One reason is internal control: small businesses often require two signatures on a check, meaning owners or authorized employees must sign before money leaves the business. That process gives businesses a clear record of who is being paid and how much.

Small businesses also often prefer receiving checks. Zagorsky said that after his mother’s death, many of the small businesses he dealt with wanted an additional 3%, and sometimes more, to cover the cost of accepting a credit card payment. Writing paper checks saved money for both him and the businesses.

Problems with checks

While many Americans and businesses continue to use checks, their declining use reflects the fact that checks are not ideal for every payment situation.

One major issue is that the recipient cannot know with certainty whether the check writer has enough money in the account to cover the payment. If the account lacks sufficient funds, the check bounces. The Federal Reserve, which clears about one-third of all U.S. checks, returned about 22 million checks with a combined face value of around $80 billion. Although those numbers are large, more than 99% of all checks written do not bounce.

Forgery is another problem. Thieves steal checks from mailboxes, alter the information and cash them. The most recent figures show about 500,000 annual cases of check fraud in the United States. Again, while a half-million cases is substantial, it represents only a small fraction of the 9.2 billion checks written each year.

Because of these issues, the Federal Reserve has been considering whether to leave the check-processing business. In early 2026, it accepted public comments on whether it should wind down, improve or leave unchanged its check-processing unit. The decision matters because the Federal Reserve still clears about one-third of U.S. checks, so any change would affect a payment method that remains widely used even after decades of decline.

That unit costs about $100 million a year to operate and posted a $6.6 million profit in 2024. However, its machines need to be replaced, and the Federal Reserve is weighing whether to spend the money.

The question is whether checks should be phased out like the penny, which the federal government stopped minting in 2025, or the haypenny, which was worth half a cent and has not been produced since 1857.

Zagorsky’s conclusion is that they should not. Although checks are clearly less important than they once were, the numbers show that Americans and businesses still use and need them.

Jay L. Zagorsky is an associate professor of business at Boston University.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.