Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco | Payment Services, Currency, Checks, Electronic Payments, Interactive Graphic

Currency and Coin

The Federal Reserve Banks ensure that there is enough fit currency and coin in circulation to meet public demand. There was $888 billion of currency in circulation at the end of 2009. Using high speed machines, Reserve Banks processed 32 billion pieces of currency in 2009 and destroyed 6 billion pieces of unfit currency.

Checks

The Federal Reserve Banks process approximately one-third of the paper items that ultimately clear as checks in the country. In 2009, the Federal Reserve System cleared 8.6 billion checks, most of which were processed as electronic images.

Electronic Payment

The Federal Reserve Banks process electronic payments such as direct deposits of payroll, online bill payments, and large value transfers between banks. In 2009, Reserve Banks processed 11.2 billion electronic payment transactions, valued at $19.7 trillion, through the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) payments system.

Commercial Banks

U.S. Government

The primary customers for the Federal Reserve's payment services are commercial banks and other depository institutions. The Federal Reserve Banks distribute currency and coin to banks, clear checks, and electronic payments between banks to settle their customers' account transactions, and facilitate large electronic transfers between banks.

The Federal Reserve acts as the banker for the U.S. government. In this role, the Federal Reserve Banks maintain the U.S. Treasury's checking account and process a wide range of electronic payments such as Social Security and government payroll checks. The Reserve Banks also support the issuance, transfer, and redemption of U.S. Treasury securities.