FR3066_20220729_omb

Supporting Statement for the
Federal Reserve Payments Study
(FR 3066; OMB No. 7100-0351)
Summary
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), under authority
delegated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has extended for three years, with
revision, the Federal Reserve Payments Study (FR 3066; OMB No. 7100-0351). The Federal
Reserve Payments Study (FRPS) is supported by the following surveys:
• Depository and Financial Institutions Payments Survey (FR 3066a), and
• Networks, Processors, and Issuers Payments Surveys (FR 3066b).
The FRPS collects information from organizations with a significant role in processing
payments, including depository and financial institutions, general-purpose payment networks,
third-party payment processors, issuers of private-label payment instruments, and providers of
various alternative payment methods and systems and help to support the Federal Reserve
System’s (Federal Reserve’s) role in the payments system. The FR 3066a and FR 3066b consist
of a full set of surveys every three years and smaller versions of the surveys (fewer surveys,
questions, or respondents) in each year between. The FRPS publishes aggregate estimates of
noncash payment volumes, cash deposits and withdrawals, and related information derived from
the surveys.
The Board revised the FRPS by structuring it as a partially ad hoc collection.1 No
changes were adopted to the current content or respondent panels for the FR 3066a and
FR 3066b at this time—the surveys will contain the same core content that remains essentially
unchanged from year to year. However, structuring the FRPS as partially ad hoc collection will
improve its ability to collect relevant information in response to changing conditions in payments
markets by streamlining the ability to add, remove, or modify survey items and respondents
based on the Federal Reserve’s information needs. Some changes to the surveys may persist
from year to year.
The current estimated total annual burden for the FR 3066 is 12,350 hours, and would
remain unchanged with the revisions.

Certain criteria apply to information collections conducted via the Board’s ad hoc clearance process. Such
information collections shall (1) be vetted by the Board’s clearance officer, as well as the Division director
responsible for the information collection, (2) display the OMB control number, (3) inform respondents that the
information collection has been approved, (4) be used only in such cases where response is voluntary, (5) not be
used to substantially inform regulatory actions or policy decisions, (6) be conducted only and exactly as described in
the OMB submission, (7) involve only noncontroversial subject matter that will not raise concerns for other Federal
agencies, (8) include a detailed justification of the effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if
applicable), and (9) collect personally identifiable information (PII) only to the extent necessary (if collecting
sensitive PII, the form must display a current Privacy Act notice). In addition, for each information collection
instrument, respondent burden will be tracked and submitted to OMB.
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Background and Justification
The FR 3066a and FR 3066b are part of the latest iteration of the FRPS, which has been a
collaborative effort of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (FRB Atlanta) and the Board since
2000. The FRPS originated from a Federal Reserve System-wide effort to improve the
measurement and public availability of information on volumes and trends in checks and other
noncash payments. The FRPS filled a significant gap in quantitative information on U.S. noncash
payments by providing a reliable and transparent non-mandatory approach to surveying payment
institutions, constructing U.S. domestic total estimates from the survey data, and publishing
them. The focus of the surveys has adapted to the substantial evolution and growth in emerging
and innovative payment types over time, as well as the refreshed strategic direction of Federal
Reserve Financial Services. The strategic direction includes a focus on meeting the evolving
needs of payment system users for end-to-end payment speed, efficiency, and security, while
remaining true to a longstanding financial services mission to foster the integrity, efficiency, and
accessibility of the U.S. payment system. The Retail Payments Risk Forum (RPRF) at FRB
Atlanta and the Payment System Studies section at the Board jointly conduct the study using
experienced contractors that engage respondents and collect and deliver survey data according to
the survey design requirements set by the Federal Reserve.
Surveys in previous years received robust industry support and participation, and the
aggregate estimates produced from the survey data are widely cited in academic working papers,
journal articles, and industry publications, reported in the media, and used by the public,
industry, and policy makers as a quantitative aggregate benchmark of noncash payments and
cash withdrawal and deposit activity in the United States. As the noncash payments system
grows larger and more complex, the Board expects the data collected under the FRPS to play a
crucial role in objectively maintaining and updating quantitative information on the U.S. noncash
payments system. The information collected through the FRPS is not available from other
sources.
Description of Information Collection
The FRPS gathers information that is used by Board staff to estimate the aggregate
number and value of all noncash payments, as well as cash withdrawals and deposits and cash
payments made by U.S. consumers and businesses, including for-profit and not-for-profit
enterprises, and federal, state, and local government agencies.
FR 3066a. The FR 3066a collects the number and value of noncash payments, cash
withdrawals and deposits, third-party payments fraud, and related information from a nationally
representative sample of commercial banks, savings institutions, and credit unions. It is a single
survey that follows a three-year cycle and is divided into sections corresponding to payment
types.2 In the first of three years, the Federal Reserve requests survey participation from a
nationally representative stratified random sample of depository institutions. The full survey is
administered to large institutions, while shorter versions are administered to smaller institutions.

2

Examples of survey forms from previous years are available at
https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/frps_survey.htm.

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In the second and third years, a shorter version of the survey is administered to large depository
institutions.
FR 3066b. The FR 3066b is a set of surveys that collect the number and value of
electronic payments, payments fraud, and related information from a census of major card
networks, payment processors, and card issuers.3 The surveys’ content varies for the different
types of payment processors that are respondents for the FR 3066b. In the first of three years,
surveys are administered for all payment types and processors covered by the FR 3066b. In the
second and third years, surveys are administered only for some payment types, depending on
information needs.
Respondent Panel
The FR 3066a panel comprises depository institutions that offer transaction deposit
accounts, prepaid card program accounts, and credit card accounts to consumer, business, and
government customers, including depository institutions that issue general-purpose credit cards
but do not accept consumer deposits.
The FR 3066b panel comprises general-purpose credit card networks; private-label credit
card merchant issuers; private-label credit card processors; general-purpose debit card networks;
general-purpose prepaid card networks; automated teller machine card networks; generalpurpose prepaid card processors; electronic benefits transfer card processors; private-label
prepaid card issuers and processors; P2P and money transfer processors; online bill payment
processors; walk-in bill payment processors; private-label ACH debit card processors; toll
collection processors; online payment authentication methods processors; mobile wallet
processors; and transit system operators.
Revisions to the FR 3066
The Board revised the FRPS by structuring it as a partially ad hoc collection to improve
its ability to collect relevant information in response to changing conditions in payments markets
by streamlining the ability to add, remove, or modify survey items and respondents based on the
Federal Reserve’s information needs. Under the adopted revisions, the FRPS would contain the
same core substantive questions asked on prior FRPS surveys, which would generally remain
consistent from year to year. However, questions could be added, modified, or removed from
year to year based on the Federal Reserve’s information needs.
Time Schedule for Information Collection
The FR 3066a and FR 3066b are distributed around the end of the first quarter of each
year and are due by the end of the second quarter. Follow-up for nonresponse, missing items, and
validation is completed by the end of the third quarter.

See “Respondent Panel,” infra, for a full list of the different types of payment processors. Examples of survey
forms from previous years are available at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/frps_survey.htm.
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Public Availability of Data
The initial data brief is normally released to the public in the fourth quarter of the year in
which responses are requested and a detailed data supplement is normally released in the second
quarter of the following year. Individual responses are kept confidential, but aggregate estimates
may be cited in published material such as Federal Reserve Financial Services press releases or
reports posted on the frbservices.org website, industry conference presentations, staff studies or
working papers, professional journals, the Federal Reserve Bulletin, testimony and reports to the
Congress, or other vehicles.
Legal Status
The Board uses the information obtained through the FR 3066a and FR 3066b to
discharge its statutory responsibilities, including those under the following statutes:
• Section 609 of the Expedited Funds Availability Act (12 U.S.C. § 4008(c)), 4
• Sections 904 and 920 of the Electronic Fund Transfers Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1693b and
1693o-2),5
• Section 15 of the Check Clearing for the 21 st Century Act (12 U.S.C. § 5014),6 and
• Sections 2A, 11, 11A, 13, and 16 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. §§ 225a, 248,
248a, 342, 360, and 248-1).7
The FR 3066a and FR 3066b are voluntary.
The information contained in responses to the core questions of the FR 3066a and
FR 3066b is nonpublic commercial or financial information, which is both customarily and
actually treated as private by the respondent. The Board therefore may keep such information
confidential pursuant to exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. §
552(b)(4)). Supplemental questions asked on each survey may vary, and the Board’s ability to
keep confidential responses to such questions must therefore be determined on a case -by-case
basis. Responses to supplemental questions may contain nonpublic commercial information that
may be kept confidential by the Board pursuant to exemption 4 of the FOIA. Some such
responses may also contain information contained in or related to an examination of a financial
institution, which may be kept confidential under exemption 8 of the FOIA (5 U.S.C. §
552(b)(8)).

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Authorizing the Board to prescribe such regulations as it may determine appropriate to carry out its responsibility
to regulate the payment system.
5
Authorizing the Board to prescribe regulations relating to interchange fees for electronic debit transactions and
require any debit card issuer or payment card network to provide the Board with such informat ion as may be
necessary to carry out its responsibility to regulate interchange fees for electronic debit transactions.
6
Authorizing the Board to prescribe such regulations as it determines necessary to implement, prevent
circumvention or evasion of, or facilitate compliance with the Expedited Funds Availability Act, as amended.
7
Inter alia, requiring the Board to maintain long run growth of the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate
with the economy's long run potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum
employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.

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Consultation Outside of the Agency
As part of the routine execution of the surveys, the Federal Reserve’s contractors
that recruit responses and collect survey data engage with potential participants to review,
explain, and obtain feedback about the surveys. These conversations help to develop or
revise proposed questions to make them as relevant to and substantively consistent with
industry practices as possible.
Public Comments
On April 6, 2022, the Board published an initial notice in the Federal Register (87 FR
19924) requesting public comment for 60 days on the extension, with revision, of the FR 3066.
The comment period for this notice expired on June 6, 2022. The Board did not receive any
comments. The Board adopted the extension, with revision of the FR 3066 as originally
proposed. On July 25, 2022, the Board published a final notice in the Federal Register (87 FR
44119).
Estimate of Respondent Burden
As shown in the table below, the estimated total annual burden for the FR 3066 is 12,350
hours, and would remain unchanged with the revisions. For the FR 3066a, the Board estimates
1,400 respondents for the first year of the three year cycle in which a representative sample
survey is administered, and 70 respondents for each of the annual supplement years in which the
largest depository and financial institutions are surveyed. This yields an average of 513
respondents per year for the FR 3066a. For the FR 3066b, the Board estimates 280 respondents
for the first year survey and 60 respondents for the smaller supplements in the second and third
years. This yields an average of 133 respondents per year for the FR 3066b. The Board estimates
that the average hours per response are the same across all years for both the FR 3066a and
FR 3066b. These reporting requirements represent less than 1 percent of the Board’s total
paperwork burden.
Estimated
number of
respondents8

FR 3066

Estimated
Estimated
Annual
average hours annual burden
frequency
per response
hours

513
133

FR 3066a
FR 3066b

1
1

Total

8

22
8

11,286
1,064
12,350

Of the respondents, 234 for the FR 3066a and 30 for the FR 3066b are considered small entities as defined by the
Small Business Administration (i.e., entities with less than $600 million in total assets),
https://www.sba.gov/document/support--table-size-standards.

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The estimated total annual cost to the public for the FR 3066 is $746,558.9
Sensitive Questions
These collections of information contain no questions of a sensitive nature, as defined by
OMB guidelines.
Estimated Cost to the Federal Reserve System
The cost of the surveys to the Federal Reserve System depends mostly on the cost of the
contractors engaged by the RPRF, as sponsor, to assist with the surveys. The estimated cost is
$5,100,000 to conduct FR 3066a and FR 3066b during this three-year period. The Reserve Bank
expenditure is approved under budget item 3982 – Financial System Research and Strategic
Planning, and, as required, has received endorsement by the Reserve Banks’ Financial Services
Policy Committee chair and approval by the Division Director of the Board’s Division of
Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems. The Federal Reserve anticipates that the RPRF
would manage and conduct the survey process at no incremental Federal Reserve staffing cost
compared with previous efforts. No other Reserve Bank or Board staff is anticipated to be
required.

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Total cost to the public was estimated using the following formula: percent of staff time, multiplied by annual
burden hours, multiplied by hourly rates (30% Office & Administrative Support at $21, 45% Financial Managers at
$74, 15% Lawyers at $71, and 10% Chief Executives at $102). Hourly rates for each occupat ional group are the
(rounded) mean hourly wages from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), Occupational Employment and
Wages, May 2021, published March 31, 2022, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. Occupations are
defined using the BLS Standard Occupational Classification System, https://www.bls.gov/soc/.

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