IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jecrev/v76y2025i1d10.1007_s42973-023-00141-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cashless payment methods and COVID-19: evidence from Japanese consumer panel data

Author

Listed:
  • Hiroshi Fujiki

    (Chuo University)

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether consumers increased the use of cashless payments and reduced cash payments after the COVID-19 outbreak. In doing so, we examined the effects of the Point Reward Project for Consumers Using Cashless Payments (PRP) program (a Japanese government program that subsidized the use of cashless payment methods by consumers, merchants, and payment service providers). We selected this program because it aimed to encourage cashless payments and was launched shortly before the initial COVID-19 outbreak and ended during the fourth wave of the pandemic. We compared Japanese consumers’ choices between four payment methods, cash, credit card, code payment, and electronic money, because many nonbanks began code payment services in anticipation of the PRP. We use data over four phases: before the PRP implementation, after the PRP implementation but before the spread of COVID-19, after the PRP implementation and after the spread of COVID-19, and during the spread of COVID-19 after the PRP ended. We do so to disentangle the effects of COVID-19 and the PRP on consumers’ choices of the four payment methods. Our counterfactual simulations show that, without implementing the PRP, the ratio of cash use would be higher by 0.04–0.08 points and that the ratios of code payment use and electronic money use would be lower by 0.02 and 0.08 points, respectively. If there had been no COVID-19 in Japan, the ratio of cash use would be higher by 0.03 points, and that of credit card use would be lower by 0.02 points.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiroshi Fujiki, 2025. "Cashless payment methods and COVID-19: evidence from Japanese consumer panel data," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 76(1), pages 121-162, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jecrev:v:76:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s42973-023-00141-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s42973-023-00141-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s42973-023-00141-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s42973-023-00141-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sébastien Kraenzlin & Christoph Meyer & Thomas Nellen, 2020. "COVID-19 and regional shifts in Swiss retail payments," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 156(1), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Heng Chen & Marie-Hélène Felt & Kim P. Huynh, 2017. "Retail payment innovations and cash usage: accounting for attrition by using refreshment samples," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 180(2), pages 503-530, February.
    3. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    4. Sergei Koulayev & Marc Rysman & Scott Schuh & Joanna Stavins, 2016. "Explaining adoption and use of payment instruments by US consumers," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 47(2), pages 293-325, May.
    5. Hiroshi Fujiki, 2022. "Household financial services, financial literacy, and COVID-19 pandemic," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(7), pages 615-618, April.
    6. Jonker, Nicole & van der Cruijsen, Carin & Bijlsma, Michiel & Bolt, Wilko, 2022. "Pandemic payment patterns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kotkowski, Radoslaw & Polasik, Michal, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic increases the divide between cash and cashless payment users in Europe," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    2. Fujiki, Hiroshi, 2020. "Cash demand and financial literacy: A case study using Japanese survey data," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    3. Zachary Porreca, 2024. "Identifying the General Equilibrium Effects of Narcotics Enforcement," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 24227, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    4. Semerikova, E., 2024. "Cashless payments beyond access: What influences the intensity of use?," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 64(3), pages 171-188.
    5. Raphael Auer & Giulio Cornelli & Jon Frost, 2022. "The pandemic, cash and retail payment behaviour: insights from the future of payments database," BIS Working Papers 1055, Bank for International Settlements.
    6. Justus Meyer & Federica Teppa, 2023. "Euro area consumers' payment behaviour and banking digitalisation," Working Papers 772, DNB.
    7. Agnieszka Huterska & Anna Iwona Piotrowska & Joanna Szalacha-Jarmużek, 2021. "Fear of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Distancing as Factors Determining the Change in Consumer Payment Behavior at Retail and Service Outlets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Marie-Hélène Felt, 2020. "Losing Contact: The Impact of Contactless Payments on Cash Usage," Staff Working Papers 20-56, Bank of Canada.
    9. Santiago Carbó‐Valverde & Pedro J. Cuadros‐Solas & Francisco Rodríguez‐Fernández & José Juan Sánchez‐Béjar, 2024. "Digital innovation and de‐branching in the banking industry: Customer perception and satisfaction," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S1), pages 8-20, March.
    10. Hiroshi Fujiki, 2020. "The use of noncash payment methods for regular payments and the household demand for cash: evidence from Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 71(4), pages 719-765, October.
    11. Hiroshi Fujiki, 2023. "Attributes needed for Japan’s central bank digital currency," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 74(1), pages 117-175, January.
    12. Fujiki, Hiroshi & Tanaka, Migiwa, 2018. "How do we choose to pay using evolving retail payment technologies? Evidence from Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 85-99.
    13. Beata Świecka & Paweł Terefenko & Tomasz Wiśniewski & Jingjian Xiao, 2021. "Consumer Financial Knowledge and Cashless Payment Behavior for Sustainable Development in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, June.
    14. Carbó-Valverde, Santiago & Cuadros-Solas, Pedro J. & Rodríguez-Fernández, Francisco & Sánchez-Béjar, José Juan, 2023. "Mobility restrictions and payment choices: The case of the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    15. Martin Brown & Nicole Hentschel & Hannes Mettler & Helmut Stix, 2020. "Financial Innovation, Payment Choice and Cash Demand - Causal Evidence from the Staggered Introduction of Contactless Debit Cards," Working Papers on Finance 2002, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.
    16. Fujiki, Hiroshi & Tanaka, Migiwa, 2017. "Choice of payment instrument for low-value transactions in Japan," International Cash Conference 2017 – War on Cash: Is there a Future for Cash? 162909, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    17. Anna Iwańczuk-Kaliska & Mirosława Kaczmarek & Grzegorz Kotliński, 2023. "Non-cash retail payments in selected banks during the COVID-19 pandemic – the case of Poland," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 54(3), pages 309-334.
    18. Martin Brown & Nicole Hentschel & Hannes Mettler & Helmut Stix, 2020. "Financial Innovation, Payment Choice and Cash Demand – Causal Evidence from the Staggered Introduction of Contactless Debit Cards (Martin Brown,Nicole Hentschel, Hannes Mettler, Helmut Stix)," Working Papers 230, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    19. Heng Chen & Marie-Hélène Felt & Kim P. Huynh, 2017. "Retail payment innovations and cash usage: accounting for attrition by using refreshment samples," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 180(2), pages 503-530, February.
    20. Averi Chakrabarti & Karen A Grépin & Stéphane Helleringer, 2019. "The impact of supplementary immunization activities on routine vaccination coverage: An instrumental variable analysis in five low-income countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-11, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cashless payment methods; COVID-19; Payment context; Point reward project for consumers using cashless payments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E41 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Demand for Money
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • G53 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Financial Literacy
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jecrev:v:76:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s42973-023-00141-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.