In love with the debit card but still married to cash

Using shopping diary survey data, we show that changing payment patterns is a challenging task; even when consumers have fallen in love with a new payment instrument, they find it hard to divorce from their old payment instrument. We find a discrepancy between how consumers prefer to pay and how they actually pay. Half of the consumers who prefer the debit card to cash don’t use the debit card to pay a majority of their point-of-sale transactions. Our regression results show that the habit of paying cash plays a significant role explaining the presence of a gap.     

How Do Debit Cards Affect Cash Demand? Survey Data Evidence

This paper analyzes how EFT-POS payments and ATM withdrawals affect cash demand. In particular, survey data about Austrian individuals are employed to estimate a purse cash demand equation, which takes account of sample selection effects. The results reveal that purse cash demand is significantly and sizably affected by debit card usage and that there are significant differences in cash demand for individuals with different debit card usage frequencies. In addition, the effect of EFT-POS payments on cash use at the point-of-sale is discussed on the basis of data from a consumer transaction survey.     

Consumers’ perceived risk and hold and use of payment instruments

Consumer decisions regarding retail payment instruments entail private and social costs. Due to these social costs, policymakers are increasingly trying to understand the determinants of consumer payment choices as documented by the European Central Bank’s regular publications. This article contributes to this understanding by investigating the role of perceived risk. Based on an original survey of French consumers, we measure the effects of perceived risk on the decisions to hold and use the main retail payment instruments: cash, card and cheque. We point to the sequential dependence of the decisions to hold and use a payment instrument, and study jointly both decisions. The bivariate analysis based on risk factors shows that unavailability risk and time risk have the greatest transverse influence on holding and using payment instruments. Our results, robust to controlling for consumer characteristics, confirm their propensity for a quick-to-use and constantly available payment instrument. We discuss the relevance of our results for policy making purposes.     

Prices for cash and cash for prices? Theory and evidence on convenient pricing

A transaction between a seller and a buyer incurs a payment cost. The payment cost is borne by the seller, depending on the payment instrument the buyer chooses, cash or card. Card payment is more costly than cash payment, so the seller prefers that the buyer pays cash. In this article, we study the strategy of the seller setting a convenient price, which simplifies transactions and pushes the buyer to pay cash. The theoretical analysis, which models both the seller and the buyer in a game setting, derives two propositions: (1) the seller is more likely to set a more convenient price and (2) the buyer is more likely to pay cash a more convenient price. The empirical analysis supports both propositions. Thus, sellers adopt a convenience pricing strategy – prices for cash – and this strategy pushes buyers to pay cash – cash for prices.     

DRIVERS OF PAYMENT PATTERNS AT THE POINT OF SALE: STABLE OR NOT?

This research shows that it is key to have up‐to‐date information on payment behavior per type of point of sale (POS) and on how this behavior is driven by sociodemographic factors and perceived payment instrument attributes. Based on 2004 and 2014 data of the Netherlands, we find substantial shifts in the drivers of payment behavior. The sociodemographic factors behind the adoption of the credit card and debit card have changed, especially for the latter payment card. In addition, there are substantial shifts in the effects of sociodemographic factors and perceived relative payment attributes on which payment instrument consumers most often use. Shifts in payment behavior depend on the type of POS. Overall, we find that safety has become more important for payment behavior. The extent to which payment behavior depends on user‐friendliness and speed has somewhat decreased. (JEL C25, D12, E42)     

HOW DO SPEED AND SECURITY INFLUENCE CONSUMERS' PAYMENT BEHAVIOR?

The Federal Reserve named improvements in the speed and security of the payment system as two of its policy initiatives for 2012–2016. Using new data from the 2013 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice (SCPC) and models from earlier research, we estimate how various aspects of speed and security influence consumers' decisions to adopt and use payment instruments. Some aspects of speed and security have a statistically significant influence on the adoption and use of selected payment instruments, but not as much as other characteristics of payment instruments. Using econometric models to simulate selected policies proposed by the Fed, we show that faster speed of payment deduction for Automatic Clearing House (ACH) transactions would slightly increase consumers' adoption of ACH‐based payment methods, while enhanced security of payment cards would marginally increase the use of credit and debit cards. However, neither improvement is likely to increase consumer welfare much because consumer demand for payments is very inelastic with respect to speed and security. Our analysis focuses exclusively on consumers' behavior and does not include potential benefits of improvements to the payment system that would directly benefit businesses or financial institutions. In addition, preventing security breaches may preserve public confidence in the payment system, benefitting consumers even if they do not change their payment behavior. (JEL D12, D14, E58)     

STICKY PRICES AND COSTLY CREDIT

We develop a theory of money and credit as competing payment instruments, then put it to work in applications. Agents use cash and credit because the former (latter) is subject to the inflation tax (transaction costs). Frictions that make the choice of payment method interesting also imply equilibrium price dispersion. We derive closed-form solutions for money demand, and show how to simultaneously account for the price-change facts, cash–credit shares in micro data, and money-interest correlations in macro data. The effects of inflation on welfare, price dispersion and markups are discussed, as are nonstationary equilibria with dynamics in the price distribution.     

Convenient prices,cash payments and price rigidity

Recent works suggest that convenient prices that match monetary denominations exhibit above-average price rigidity and are set up by firms that have incentives to be paid in cash. The relationship between convenient prices and cash usage has however never been explicitly examined. This paper proposes a model that relates convenient prices to cash usage and exploits to test it a unique dataset in 2011 on cash payments and prices by a representative sample of French consumers. In line with the model, estimation results bring direct evidence that individuals' shares of cash payments increase with convenient prices. This finding confirms that price rigidity can be in part explained by the use of cash to pay convenient prices.     

Optimal card payment systems

This paper presents a model of a card payment system to address the pricing and rules that govern such systems. It evaluates the social optimality of privately set interchange fees and the adoption of a rule by payment systems to prevent merchants surcharging for card transactions using two extremes of merchant pricing—monopolistic pricing and perfect competition. Both types of merchant pricing constrain the ability of card schemes to use interchange fees and the no-surcharge rule in anticompetitive ways, although for quite different reasons. The positive role of the no-surcharge rule in preventing excessive merchant surcharging is also highlighted.     

Credit card cash‐out as informal financing: Evidence from China

Using a proprietary account‐level database from a commercial bank in China, we document that credit card holders can ease their credit constraints through the practice of cash‐out based on bogus transactions using credit cards. We find that such behaviour might be beneficial to both cardholders and banks. First, we find that a 1% increase in the cumulative number of credit card cash‐out transactions lowers the probability of default by 9.59%. Second, for private businesses, a 1% increase in the number of abnormal cash‐out transactions lowers overdue risk by 13.45%. Third, by lowering the overdue risk, the card‐issuing bank earns a larger profit. Our results are consistent with the notion that unconventional credit card cash‐out can mitigate the extent of capital misallocation in emerging markets.     

WHY IS CASH (STILL) SO ENTRENCHED? INSIGHTS FROM CANADIAN SHOPPING DIARIES

One similarity among many developed economies is the predominance of cash over electronic payments in terms of payment frequency, especially for the low‐value transactions that are the bulk of retail payments. We use the Bank of Canada's 2009 Methods‐of‐Payment Survey, which collected information on consumers' payment choices through shopping diaries, to estimate a simple model of choice between cash and other payment methods. Results suggest that the main reasons cash is still a popular payment instrument in Canada, especially for low‐value transactions, are its wide acceptance among merchants compared with other alternatives, speed and ease of use, and low marginal cost when on hand. (JEL E41, D12, L81)     

信用卡支付如何影响主观幸福感?——基于萨缪尔森幸福公式的研究

信用卡是一项功能性金融基础设施,现有研究多数止步于信用卡的消费溢价效应,尚未关注其终极福祉效应.文章基于萨缪尔森幸福公式,分析了信用卡支付影响主观幸福感的作用机理,阐述了其并联机制和串联机制.在此基础上,文章运用条件混合过程模型评估了信用卡支付对主观幸福感的影响,采用因果中介效应分析方法识别了其作用机制.研究发现,信用卡支付显著侵蚀了持卡人的主观幸福感,幸福侵蚀效应是通过串联机制而非并联机制传导的.具体来说,信用卡支付经由欲望膨胀渠道和消费实现渠道所构成的串联机制,降低了持卡人的主观幸福感.另外,信用卡支付的幸福侵蚀效应会因使用动机、家中地位以及城乡和地区差异而表现出异质性.     

Efficient delivery of subsidies to the poor: Improving the design of a cash transfer program in Ecuador

Many governments provide monetary transfers to low-income families. The mechanism through which these subsidies are distributed may contain several inefficiencies that diminish the net-value obtained by the recipients. In this paper, we build and estimate a behavioral dynamic model that allows us to evaluate the efficiency of current and alternative distribution mechanisms. The proposed model is simple and resembles the individual's decision to collect the transfer. To estimate it, we use data from a cash transfer program in Ecuador where recipients incur high transaction costs each time they collect their benefits. Despite its simplicity, our model is able to replicate the observed data remarkably well. We use it to simulate alternative payment mechanisms and show that an adequate design of the delivery of payments can substantially increase the value of cash transfer programs.     

股权集中度视角下高管团队特征对现金股利政策的影响

现金股利政策是上市公司对盈利进行分配或留存用于再投资的决策问题,在公司经营中起着至关重要的作用。探究了高管团队特征(规模、年龄、性别、学历背景)对企业现金股利政策的影响,研究发现管理团队的规模越大、平均年龄越大,企业现金股利支付率越高,表明企业管理团队人数越多,年龄越大,越容易采用较高的股利支付率,而管理团队的平均学历越高,越倾向于选择较低的现金股利分配率。说明更高学历的管理层认为,较低的现金股利支付水平才是有利于企业发展的股利支付水平。男性管理层和女性管理者对企业支付现金股利的高低并没有明显的差异。进一步研究发现,企业的股权越集中,管理者的特征对现金股利政策的影响会被弱化。也就是说,股权集中度会显著削弱管理者特征对公司现金股利政策的影响,该实证结果也印证了上市公司中代理问题的普遍存在。研究结果可为企业管理团队的合理配置提出可以借鉴的依据以及实证结果的支持。     

The usage of VoIP services and other communication services: An empirical analysis of Italian consumers

This paper examines the early stages of VoIP usage by analyzing the relationship between the usage of VoIP services and other voice and non-voice communication services in Italy. In doing so, it aims at filling the gap in the empirical literature on the diffusion of VoIP among consumers and aims at investigating the relationship between VoIP adoption and the usage of telecom and Internet-related services. It relies upon a survey carried out among consumers in Italy in 2006. The use of VoIP is negatively associated with the usage of other voice communication services — mobile communications in particular, but shows some degree of complementarity with other non-voice (Internet-based) communication services, suggesting that familiarity with the web plays a significant and positive role in explaining the adoption of VoIP applications. Furthermore, individual users' technical skills, job position and communications' habits also matter in determining the adoption of VoIP.     

Who should bear the resource cost of electronic transaction?

Using a search theoretic model of money, we examine an optimal allocation of the resource cost of electronic transaction. A transaction using cash incurs a buyer its carrying cost, while an electronic transaction incurs data-processing cost to the payment platform which then raises the resource cost from buyers or sellers using the electronic payment system. An equilibrium allocation of the resource cost implies the seller-take-all-burden scheme by which the payment platform can maximize the volume of electronic transactions by raising the resource cost only from sellers. However, the socially optimal allocation of the resource cost implies the buyer-take-all-burden scheme by which the resource cost should be raised only from buyers in order to maximize welfare.     

Why did the terms of payment in international trade change so much?

This article examines factors contributing to the substantial change in the terms of payment, such as letter of credit (LC) and cash terms, in Korean export transactions during the period 1997–2015, using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds test approach. We find that high competition in the world market, the expansion of exports of information technology products and intra-firm trade, and the improvement of information and communication technology (ICT) decrease the share of exports on LC terms in total exports in the long run. However, the increase in exports to developing countries raises the use of LC terms. On the other hand, the increase in intra-firm trade and ICT improvement raise the share of exports settled in cash, and higher trust between trading partners increases the use of cash terms.     

Reimbursement schemes for hospitals: the impact of case and firm characteristics

We contribute to the debate on high-powered versus low-powered incentives in regulation by studying their heterogeneous impacts on different subpopulations, using data from the introduction of a high-powered prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital reimbursement in Germany. While no overall effect on quality or cost saving is found, our results support hypotheses drawn from an incentive and selection perspective: PPS reduces the length of stay of older relative to younger patients, of more severe relative to less severe cases, and in smaller relative to larger hospitals. Hospitals which adopted PPS earlier provide higher quality under PPS as proxied by the case-specific readmission rate. Our study also contributes to the health economic literature on hospital reimbursement as our data permits us to identify the treatment effect via different timings of adoption of PPS and to use a more accurate quality measure by following patients even when readmitted to other hospitals.     

Who you are or whom you know? Consumption interdependences in social networks

This paper presents an analysis of whether a consumer's decision to switch from one mobile phone provider to another is driven by individual consumer characteristics or by actions of other consumers in her social network. Such consumption interdependences are estimated using a unique dataset, which contains transaction data based on anonymized call records from a large European mobile phone carrier to approximate a consumer's social network. Results show that network effects have an important impact on consumers’ switching decisions: switching decisions are interdependent between consumers who interact with each other and this interdependence increases in the closeness between two consumers as measured by the calling data. In other words, if a subscriber switches carriers, she is also affecting the switching probabilities of other individuals in her social circle. The paper argues that such an approach is of high relevance to both switching of providers and to the adoption of new products.     

E-commerce transactions,the installed base of credit cards,and the potential mobile E-commerce adoption

Mobile e-commerce (m-commerce) relaxes consumers’ temporal and geographic purchasing constraints and encourage the establishment of omnichannel markets. It is often argued that rapid increase in smartphone penetration is the primary driver of m-commerce adoption, whereas others contend that early adoption of m-commerce applications are mostly by “relatively heavy” Internet commerce users. Brynjolfsson et al. (2013) argue that rapid increase in smartphone penetration is the primary driver of m-commerce adoption, whereas Einav et al. (2014) contend that early adoption of m-commerce applications are mostly by ‘relatively heavy’ Internet commerce users. This article explores strength of the influences within a nested multiple-service framework, where the reduced-form econometric analysis allows for interdependency between m-commerce and e-commerce services, and the installed base of credit cards. The results reveal a complex situation in which credit cards facilitate e-commerce services, whereas m-commerce adoptions are driven by prior e-commerce and online transaction activity. Also, higher respondent incomes are negatively associated with proposed m-commerce adoption. Surprisingly, privacy concerns do not affect proposed adoption independently; however, an interaction term suggests privacy remains an adoption barrier for the older persons.