According to the annual report of the RBA's Payments System Board, the increase in the use of electronic payment methods, including debit cards, credit cards and BPAY, is accelerating. The total number of non-cash payments increased by around nine per cent in 2013/2014, slightly stronger than the average growth rate for past five years. Similarly, the value of non-cash payments grew by almost six per cent, more than double the recent average. In contrast, 'paper-based' methods, such as cash and cheques, are being relied on less by consumers and businesses for transactional purposes.Use of all the main electronic forms of payment increased, with debit card transactions and the number of direct debits growing particularly strongly in 2013/14. The number of cheque payments fell by a further 14 per cent in 2013/14, though they remain important for certain large-value transactions.