ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — CrossCheck Inc., a privately-held payment-guarantee company, has announced that its ChecksByNet and CheckNow services have achieved “phenomenal” growth. The total dollar amount of checks processed through CheckNow in 2002 increased almost 500 percent from 2001 and the total dollar amount of checks processed through ChecksByNet increased almost 165 percent over the same period.

Using ChecksByNet, online consumers can write a check over the Internet for products or services by filling in their check information on a secure Web page. CheckNow works in a similar way, but the consumer gives the merchant their check information via phone or fax and the merchant submits the information to CrossCheck through its secure Web page.

comScore Networks Inc. has estimated online consumer sales for 2002 (excluding auctions) to have hit $74 billion, a 39 percent increase over 2001. comScore also noted sharp increases in the number of new online buyers and greater spending among buyers with online buying experience.