The Federal Reserve announced today that it has hired an outside consultant to study trends in checking and electronic payments.
The three-part study, which will be conducted by McKinsey & Company, is aimed at estimating the annual number, dollar value and composition of retail noncash payments in the United States. The Fed said the studies will provide aggregate estimates and current trends in the use of noncash payment instruments.
The Fed conducted similar studies in 2001, 2004 and 2007.
Preliminary results are expected later this year.
