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The Pandemic, Cash and Retail Payment Behaviour: Insights from the Future of Payments Database

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Listed:
  • Raphael Auer
  • Giulio Cornelli
  • Jon Frost
  • Raphael A. Auer

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a shock to retail payment behaviour. How have the changes differed across countries? What do they imply for the future of cash and digital payments? We assemble a new “Future of Payments” database on retail payment behaviour for up to 95 countries over September 2019 to June 2022. We compare this with measures of the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, using variation in the timing of waves of cases, changes in mobility and lockdown measures across countries. We find that card-not-present payments, payment app downloads and the volume of cash in circulation all rose in weeks of more stringent lockdowns. Changes were less pronounced in countries with higher mobile penetration. However, recent data suggest that some effects reversed once lockdowns were eased, and mobility rebounded.

Suggested Citation

  • Raphael Auer & Giulio Cornelli & Jon Frost & Raphael A. Auer, 2023. "The Pandemic, Cash and Retail Payment Behaviour: Insights from the Future of Payments Database," CESifo Working Paper Series 10258, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10258
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Jonker, Nicole & van der Cruijsen, Carin & Bijlsma, Michiel & Bolt, Wilko, 2022. "Pandemic payment patterns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
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    11. repec:zbw:bofitp:2021_013 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sebastian Doerr & Jon Frost & Leonardo Gambacorta & Vatsala Shreeti, 2023. "Big techs in finance," BIS Working Papers 1129, Bank for International Settlements.
    2. Justus Meyer & Federica Teppa, 2023. "Euro area consumers' payment behaviour and banking digitalisation," Working Papers 772, DNB.
    3. Martina Mate & Zvonimir Brizar, 2024. "Trends And Determinants Of Cash Usage In Non-Eurozone Eu Member States," Economic Thought and Practice, Department of Economics and Business, University of Dubrovnik, vol. 33(1), pages 25-40, june.
    4. Jon Frost & Priscilla Koo Wilkens & Anneke Kosse & Vatsala Shreeti & Carolina Velásquez, 2024. "Fast payments: design and adoption," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, March.
    5. Broekhoff, Marie-Claire & van der Cruijsen, Carin, 2024. "Paying in a blink of an eye: it hurts less, but you spend more," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 110-133.
    6. Sarah Bell & Jon Frost & Boris Hofmann & Damiano Sandri & Hyun Song Shin, 2024. "Central bank capital and trust in money: lessons from history for the digital age," BIS Papers, Bank for International Settlements, number 146, October –.
    7. 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).
    8. Giulio Cornelli & Jon Frost & Jonathan Warren & Clair Yang & Carolina Velásquez, "undated". "Retail fast payment systems as a catalyst for digital finance," BIS Working Papers 1228, Bank for International Settlements.
    9. Ivan Radanovic, 2024. "Payment systems migration to the ISO 20022 electronic messaging standard," Working Papers Bulletin 20, National Bank of Serbia.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    retail payments; cash; Covid-19 pandemic; digital innovation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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