The fifth and concluding panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's 2005 Payments Conference brought together payment processors to discuss check substitution by payors and the elimination of the physical check in the clearance and settlement process. Although the panelists agreed that while check usage is decreasing, they generally concluded checks will still remain an important part of the payment system in the foreseeable future. The panelists focused on how innovations, incentives and regulation are influencing check substitution and improvements to check processing.