Card Payments Drive ACH Growth

  Electronic check volume under the so-called "ARC" code exploded 791% in the second quarter over year-earlier levels to hit 208.8 million transactions, Nacha-The Electronic Payments Association reported in July.
  A Nacha spokesperson says the increase in Accounts Receivable Check transaction volume is mostly attributable to large credit card issuers converting consumer checks into electronic transactions. Issuers send the converted checks through the automated clearinghouse for faster payment compared with the usual check clearing system.
  The value of the ARC transactions was $60.8 billion. ARC and four other e-check applications that cover Internet, telephone and point-of-purchase payments as well as re-presented checks combined for 472.5 million transactions in the second quarter, up 121% from the 2003 period, Herndon, Va.-based Nacha reports. The figures do not include "on-us" transactions in which the financial institution originating and receiving the payment is the same.
  Total ACH payment volume originated by financial institutions hit 1.99 billion transactions in the quarter, up nearly 24% from 2003's second quarter.