Supporting Statement

OMB Supporting Statement

Financial Management Service/Treasury EFT Telephone Consumer Survey

Quantitative Survey

Background

The Financial Management Service (FMS), a bureau of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), requested that the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of St. Louis (acting as Treasury’s Fiscal Agent) plan and execute a national marketing campaign about direct deposit. To perform this task, the FRB of St. Louis contracted with a national marketing firm. FMS/Treasury and the FRB of St. Louis launched the Go Direct campaign nationally on September 27, 2005. The campaign is a marketing program designed to encourage Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) check recipients to switch to direct deposit. Given the campaign's success over the past two years, FMS has decided to continue this effort in 2007-08, and the FRB has contracted with Weber Shandwick for assistance in providing services for FMS in connection with the campaign.

On behalf of FMS/Treasury, the FRB of St. Louis and its contractors, Weber Shandwick and KRC Research, plan to conduct a national telephone consumer survey designed to provide updated information about attitudes toward direct deposit among general audience consumers (adults 18 and over). Over the past two years, the Go Direct campaign conducted similar national (and target market) telephone surveys.

This research is a component of the data collection approved in the October 2003 Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Market Research Study submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In this case the research is directed toward a general consumer audience and topically is similar to the research referenced in the October 2003 EFT Market Research Study Supporting Statement for Paper Work Reduction Act (PRA) Submission (OMB Control #1510-0074).

The objective of this voluntary telephone survey is to allow us to understand recent developments in attitudes toward direct deposit and measure any changes in attitudes and perceptions over the past two years since the research was conducted. It will also allow us to build on our current body of research to deepen our understanding of consumer perceptions and attitudes toward payment technology in support of FMS/Treasury’s national Go Direct campaign.

Methodology

To provide up-to-date information about consumers’ attitudes toward direct deposit,

KRC Research will conduct a 15 minute telephone survey of 1,400 adults nationwide. The survey will use a national random digit dial sample. Additionally, we will translate the survey into Spanish and have bilingual interviewers available to conduct interviews in Spanish for Spanish speaking respondents. This is the same number of interviews that were conducted in 2005, in the first year of the campaign. We expect the 1,400 interviews to yield approximately 140 Hispanics, 140 African Americans, 224 seniors age 65 and over, and 420 baby boomers age [43-61]. Given the sample size, we will pay particular attention to baby boomers, who will begin retiring in large numbers this year, and seniors who currently receive Social Security benefits.

FMS/Treasury understands that this methodology will underrepresent adult consumers that do not have telephones in their homes. The audiences that will be underrepresented in the telephone survey make up a very small percentage of adults nationally and those we are targeting. Given that random sample telephone surveys continue to be the academically and commercially accepted method for collecting statistically valid random samples of adults nationally, Weber Shandwick/KRC Research are confident that the telephone survey will accomplish the objectives of this research.

Estimated Burden Hours

Completion of the telephone survey of 1,400 adult consumers is expected to take approximately 351 hours of time for those who are contacted and complete the telephone interview.

This estimate is based on completing 1,400 15-minute interviews (1,400 interviews x 15 minutes)/60 = 350 hours.

Given the incidence for this target audience is 90%, we anticipate making an additional 156 contacts of individuals who will be asked screening questions to determine qualification to participate in the survey but do not qualify. Each contact should last approximately 30 seconds. Therefore, in addition to the 350 hours for interviewing respondents, there will be approximately 1 hour and 18 minutes among those who are contacted but do not participate:

156 contacts x ½ minute/60 = 78 minutes

Contact

For questions regarding the telephone survey, contact:

Doug Baker

KRC Research

700 13^th Street, NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 585-2829

E-mail address: [email protected]