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Going Cashless: Government’s Point Reward Program vs. COVID-19

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  • Toshitaka Sekine

    (Hitotsubashi University)

  • Toshiaki Shoji

    (Seikei University)

  • Tsutomu Watanabe

    (University of Tokyo)

Abstract

Using credit card transaction data, we examine the impacts of two successive events that promoted cashless payments in Japan: the government’s program and the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that the number of card users was 9-12 percent higher in restaurants that participated in the program than those that did not. We present a simple framework accounting for the spread of cashless payments. Our model predicts that the impact of the policy intervention diminished as the use of cashless payments increased, which accords well with Japan’s COVID-19 experience. The estimated impact of COVID-19 was around two-thirds of that of the program.

Suggested Citation

  • Toshitaka Sekine & Toshiaki Shoji & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2022. "Going Cashless: Government’s Point Reward Program vs. COVID-19," CARF F-Series CARF-F-538, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    • Handle: RePEc:cfi:fseres:cf538
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    References listed on IDEAS

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