ACH Is Quietly Crushing Checks in B2B Payments

Emily Jones · 2026-09-22

Remember when every B2B payment meant a paper check? Those days are fading fast. ACH is now the go-to method for business-to-business payments, and it's been on a tear for a decade. ### The Numbers Don't Lie According to the Cleveland Fed, ACH payments more than doubled from 3.6 billion in 2015 to 8.7 billion in 2024. It's been the most-used B2B payment method since 2020. Meanwhile, checks have been sliding. In 2015, checks were king with 4.6 billion payments. By 2024, that dropped to 2.7 billion. Checks' share of total B2B payments fell from 32% to just 13%. Yet nearly 90% of businesses still used checks in 2025—so there's plenty of room for ACH to grow. ### Why the Shift? "The slow move towards ACH away from checks is about cost, automation, and reducing risk," said Ben Danner, Senior Analyst of Debit at Javelin Strategy & Research. "If you think about paper checks, there is a huge risk with mishandling, counterfeit, and alterations just to name a few things. When you add up all the costs associated with paper checks, ACH is just a better modality and also gives businesses the option of speed with same day ACH. Businesses have slowly followed consumer trends in moving towards digital payments in general." Cost is a big factor. The median fee for sending or receiving an ACH payment is 25 to 50 cents per transaction. Checks? They'll set you back about $1 for sending and just under $1 for receiving. That adds up fast. ### What About Other Payment Methods? Wire transfers, credit cards, and debit cards have been pretty steady. Credit cards and wires still account for nearly 30% and 2% of B2B payments, respectively. Debit cards moved from 13% to 17%. But here's the thing: ACH and checks are used for mid-sized payments. In 2024, the average ACH transaction was $8,084, while checks averaged $5,577. Wires? They're for the big stuff—averaging nearly $3.2 million per transaction. Credit and debit cards? Much smaller: $275 and $119, respectively. ### The Bottom Line ACH is winning because it's cheaper, faster, and safer. As more businesses ditch paper checks, ACH is poised to keep growing. If you're still cutting checks, it might be time to make the switch. Your finance team will thank you.