Accounts Payable Statistics & Trends 2026: Automation, Costs, and Payment Methods

Accounts payable sits at the center of business financial operations. From invoice processing to payment execution, AP departments are under pressure to cut costs, reduce fraud, and move away from paper. This report compiles the latest statistics on AP automation, payment methods, check usage, and processing benchmarks.

Key Findings at a Glance

• ACH transfers accounted for 91% of the increase in noncash payment value from 2018 to 2021, rising by $27.7 trillion to a total of $91.85 trillion (Federal Reserve Payments Study, 2022).
• Noncash payments grew 9.5% per year from 2018 to 2021, the fastest growth rate in any three-year measurement period (Federal Reserve Payments Study, 2022).
• Card payments accounted for more than 84% of the growth in the number of noncash payments from 2018 to 2021 (Federal Reserve Payments Study, 2022).
• The ACH Network processed 33.56 billion payments worth $86.2 trillion in 2024, including 7.35 billion B2B payments totaling $58.24 trillion (Nacha, 2024).
• Check volume continues its multi-decade decline, though businesses still rely on checks more than consumers.

ACH Payment Growth

ACH (Automated Clearing House) is the backbone of business-to-business electronic payments in the United States.

• Both ACH credit and ACH debit transfers grew more than 12% per year in value from 2018, faster than card or check value growth (Federal Reserve Payments Study, 2022).
• By value, 42% of consumer payment value in October 2023 was made electronically from a bank account using ACH-authorizing methods (Atlanta Fed SDCPC, 2023).

Recent ACH Network Momentum (2025)

• In Q3 2025, B2B ACH payments reached nearly 2.1 billion transactions valued at about $16 trillion, up 10% by volume and 8.8% by value year over year (Nacha, Oct 2025).
• Same Day ACH value hit $585 billion in Q3 2025, up 15% year over year (Nacha, Oct 2025).

Check Usage Trends

• Check volume has been declining for over two decades, but checks remain significant in B2B payments.
• Noncash payment growth has been driven primarily by cards (by number) and ACH (by value), with checks contributing a shrinking share (Federal Reserve Payments Study, 2022).
• Businesses use checks at higher rates than consumers, particularly for rent, contractor payments, and vendor invoices.

Payments Fraud and Controls (AFP 2025 Survey)

• 79% of organizations experienced actual or attempted payments fraud in 2024 (AFP Payments Fraud & Control Survey).
• Checks remain the most targeted payment method, with 63% of organizations reporting check fraud incidents in 2024 (AFP Payments Fraud & Control Survey).

Corporate Payment Methods

From the GBTA survey of 7,300+ business travelers across 33 countries:

• 69% of business travelers have access to a corporate card (GBTA BTI, 2025).
• Corporate card access is highest in North America (73%) (GBTA BTI, 2025).
• Only 50% of corporate cardholders are required to use them for business expenses (GBTA BTI, 2025).
• Mobile wallet use for business payments: 64% globally, 72% in Asia Pacific (GBTA BTI, 2025).
• 67% of business travelers use expense management systems (GBTA BTI, 2025).

Payment Volume Trends (2024 Data -- Fed 2025 Diary)

• Consumers made an average of 48 payments per month in 2024, continuing an upward trend since 2021 (Fed 2025 Diary).
• Credit cards: 35% of payments by number; debit cards: 30%; cash: 14% (Fed 2025 Diary).
• 23% of purchases were made remotely in 2024 (Fed 2025 Diary).
• By value, 42% of payment value was via ACH/bank account methods in 2023; total payment value per consumer was $5,382 in Oct 2023 (Atlanta Fed SDCPC, 2023).

Digital Wallet Growth in B2B Context

• 69% of U.S. adults have used a digital wallet in the past 30 days (Capital One Shopping, Jan 2026).
• Non-cash transaction volumes are projected to surge from 1,685 billion in 2024 to 3,540 billion by 2029 (American Banker, Dec 2025).
• Digital wallets globally processed $10 trillion in transactions in 2024, projected to exceed $17 trillion by 2029 (Juniper Research via Capital One Shopping).

Receipt and Invoice Documentation

Accounts payable teams rely on matching receipts and invoices to purchase orders. Key documentation requirements:

• The IRS requires business expense documentation including the amount, date, place, and business purpose (IRS Publication 463).
• Receipts for business expenses over $75 must be retained; lodging receipts at any amount.
• Business expense receipts should be kept for 3-6 years depending on complexity.
• Digital receipts in PDF, PNG, or JPEG formats are accepted by the IRS.

If you found this data useful, please cite as: "Accounts Payable Statistics & Trends 2026," makemyreceipt.com, February 2026.

Methodology and Sources

• Federal Reserve Financial Services: 2025 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice (June 2025).
• Federal Reserve Payments Study: 2022 Triennial Data, covering noncash payment volumes 2000-2021.
• Atlanta Fed: 2023 Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice (Foster, Greene, Stavins, 2024).
• Nacha: ACH Network Volume and Value Statistics (2024).
• Nacha: B2B Payments on ACH Network Increase 10% in Third Quarter (Oct 2025).
• Association for Financial Professionals (AFP): 2025 Payments Fraud & Control Survey coverage.
• Capital One Shopping: Digital Wallet Statistics 2026 (Jan 2026).
• GBTA: Business Travel Index Outlook, July 2025.
• IRS: Publications 463 and 583.

Last updated: February 2026.