A recent study led by the New York Fed sheds light on the changes in the payment process that large corporations would most like to see. The study's results, summarized in this article, suggest that corporate treasurers and cash managers would particularly value enhancements that decrease...

The increasing prospects for large volumes of commerce taking place over open computer networks has created considerable interest in the security and technology of open computer network commerce. In this paper, we explain how the basic encryption technology for sending secure messages works, and...

We seek to analyze the extent and sources of network externalities for the automated clearinghouse (ACH) electronic payments system using a quarterly panel data set on individual bank adoption and usage of ACH. We provide three methods to identify network externalities using this panel data. The...

Essay from the 1995 Annual Report.

This article presents an update of an article first published in the March/April 2000 Business Review, which presented data from the 1995 Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances. Loretta Mester, author of the original article, has compiled information from the 1998 survey to keep readers...

Nationwide surveys show that consumers are increasingly embracing technology to make payments and manage their personal finances. However, only about one in two consumers could be considered a heavy user of electronic banking. This article examines changes over time in consumers’ access to,...

In many countries around the world, electronic card-based payments have been replacing older types of payments at a rapid rate. In the United States, use of both debit cards and credit cards has been rising rapidly, while check volumes have been declining. The increased use of electronic payment...