InfoTrends' Nichole Jones contributed to this article.

Transactional printing is the original variable data printing application. Each bill, statement, invoice, check, or explanation of benefits has content that is unique to the specific individual. Research continues to suggest that business expectations for paperless delivery adoption always exceed realized gains. Despite the efforts of bill and statement providers to move customers away from receiving paper-based communications, consumers still value the physical document as a hard copy archive as well as a reminder to pay. Americans received more than 26.6 billion household bills and statements last year.[1] According to InfoTrends’ 2016 Transactional Communications and Payments State of the Market[2] survey, only 34% of bills and statements will be delivered as “paperless” this year. This may be because many consumers still like to receive their paper statements in the mailbox.

For credit cards specifically, a new survey from CreditCards.com[3] found that nearly half of today’s 93 million credit card holders that are still receiving their statements on paper instead of online actually prefer it that way. This loyalty to paper statements is evidence that printed statements are not going away anytime soon. What’s more, 46% of those who are receiving paper financial statements say they would pay to receive these mailings if they had to. According to the survey, a small credit and a discount coupon wouldn't be enough incentive for most to switch. An account credit of $50 would be enough to tip a bare majority (52%) into switching.