Direct Deposit has been a part of our banking system for more than two decades, and employers commonly use it to issue employees their wages directly into their bank accounts. Today, Direct Deposits can be used to pay taxes, bills, and other charges.

PaymentsJournalNacha Launches Campaign to Reach Millennials on the Benefits of Direct DepositPaymentsJournal Nacha Launches Campaign to Reach Millennials on the Benefits of Direct DepositPaymentsJournaljQuery(document).ready(function ($){var settings_ap21296139 = { design_skin: "skin-wave" ,autoplay: "off",disable_volume:"default" ,loop:"off" ,cue: "on" ,embedded: "off" ,preload_method:"metadata" ,design_animateplaypause:"off" ,skinwave_dynamicwaves:"off" ,skinwave_enableSpectrum:"off" ,skinwave_enableReflect:"on",settings_backup_type:"full",playfrom:"default",soundcloud_apikey:"" ,skinwave_comments_enable:"off",settings_php_handler:window.ajaxurl,skinwave_wave_mode:"canvas",pcm_data_try_to_generate: "on","pcm_notice": "off","notice_no_media": "on",design_color_bg: "111111",design_color_highlight: "ef6b13",skinwave_wave_mode_canvas_waves_number: "3",skinwave_wave_mode_canvas_waves_padding: "1",skinwave_wave_mode_canvas_reflection_size: "0.25",skinwave_comments_playerid:"21296139",php_retriever:"https://www.paymentsjournal.com/wp-content/plugins/dzs-zoomsounds/soundcloudretriever.php" }; try{ dzsap_init(".ap_idx_404989_2",settings_ap21296139); }catch(err){ console.warn("cannot init player", err); } });

“Direct Deposit has been around for quite some time and it’s very well received throughout the United States,” said Debbie Barr, Senior Director of ACH Network Rules Process & Communication at Nacha. “Over 93% of American workers use Direct Deposit. We know the federal government uses Direct Deposit for tax refunds and EIP [economic impact payment] payments. But what we really wanted to know was to dig down deeper into one segment of the population: We decided to look at the millennials.”

Nacha, the payment system organization that manages the ACH (Automated Clearing House) Network, recently launched a campaign to encourage millennial workers to use Direct Deposit to receive their wages directly into their bank accounts. The survey consisted of 700 U.S. consumers ages 22–34. Half of the millennials surveyed were W-2 workers and the other half were gig workers. Here are the findings.

“What we found was that 97% of those surveyed have a bank or credit union account,” said Barr. “This means that they already have the tools they need to receive Direct Deposit. Eighty-three percent are already receiving their pay by Direct Deposit. Seventy-one percent said they primarily keep their money in their bank or credit union account. Almost all of them have deposit accounts. The vast majority have savings accounts. That’s a great thing as we think about Split Deposits. The top uses for Direct Deposits are salary, wages, receiving those tax refunds, and EIP payments.”

Barr believed receiving Direct Deposit creates a gateway to the many other benefits of using the ACH Network. “Receiving Direct Deposit creates this great foundation for using ACH for other things, like your bill payment,” she said. “The more you use ACH, you get this level of trust because you see the benefits of ACH, the reliability, the convenience.”

Barr continued, “With the trust level, we found that 80% of those who received their salary with Direct Deposit consider it highly trustworthy, giving it an 8, 9, or 10 out of a scale of 10. So that is exciting for us. It builds that foundation that moves them into using ACH for other things like Direct Payments. Seven out of 10 said they use Direct Payment for at least one bill each month.