SAN FRANCISCO — A survey sponsored by Visa USA indicated that a steady stream of business managers and financial executives are moving more of their commercial transactions away from the use of checks.

The card brand said that 68% of the 400 financial executives and cash managers surveyed said that they plan to reduce their reliance on checks. Also, 93% said they already have integrated corporate cards into their procurement online and 92% cited reducing payment processing costs has been influential in getting them to start using cards more.

"By removing checks and other costly paper-based elements from the cash management process, businesses are realizing a higher level of efficiency resulting in measurable cost savings," said Darren Parslow, senior vice president for Visa USA. "The marked decline in the use of checks, for both making and receiving commercial payments, indicates that today's businesses are making greater use of electronic payment methods for a more streamlined cash management process."