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The Costs of Paying – Private and Social Costs of Cash and Card Payments

Author

Listed:
  • Bergman, Mats

    (Department of Economics)

  • Guibourg, Gabriela

    (Research Department, Central Bank of Sweden)

  • Segendorf, Björn

    (International Secretariat)

Abstract

Despite the central role of payments in theoretical and policy oriented economics, there is surprisingly little known about the costs of different payment instruments. We estimate social and private costs of cash, debit and credit card payments in Sweden in 2002. The combined social cost of providing these payment services is approximately 0.4 per cent of GDP. Debit and credit cards are socially less costly than cash for payments above EURO 8 and EURO 18, respectively. Corresponding thresholds for consumers’ private costs are somewhat higher. Data indicate a too extensive use of cash relative to card payments in terms of both private and social costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Bergman, Mats & Guibourg, Gabriela & Segendorf, Björn, 2007. "The Costs of Paying – Private and Social Costs of Cash and Card Payments," Working Paper Series 212, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0212
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    File URL: http://www.riksbank.se/upload/Dokument_riksbank/Kat_publicerat/WorkingPapers/WP212.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Garcia-Swartz Daniel D. & Hahn Robert W. & Layne-Farrar Anne, 2006. "The Move Toward a Cashless Society: A Closer Look at Payment Instrument Economics," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 5(2), pages 1-24, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bruno Karoubi & Régis Chenavaz & Corina Paraschiv, 2016. "Consumers’ perceived risk and hold and use of payment instruments," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(14), pages 1317-1329, March.
    2. Fumiko Hayashi & William R. Keeton, 2012. "Measuring the costs of retail payment methods," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, vol. 97(Q II).
    3. Bolt, Wilko & Jonker, Nicole & van Renselaar, Corry, 2010. "Incentives at the counter: An empirical analysis of surcharging card payments and payment behaviour in the Netherlands," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1738-1744, August.
    4. Wilko Bolt & Sujit Chakravorti, 2010. "Digitization of Retail Payment," DNB Working Papers 270, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    5. Jakub Gorka, 2012. "Synthesis of studies on costs of cash and non-cash payment instruments (Synteza badan kosztow gotowki i bezgotowkowych instrumentow platniczych )," Problemy Zarzadzania, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 10(39), pages 223-241.
    6. Nicole Jonker & Anneke Kosse, 2008. "Towards a European payments market: survey results on cross-border payment behaviour of Dutch consumers," DNB Occasional Studies 601, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    7. Nicole Jonker & Anneke Kosse, 2013. "Estimating Cash Usage: The Impact of Survey Design on Research Outcomes," De Economist, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 19-44, March.
    8. O'Toole, Ronnie, 2013. "The Usage, Cost and Pricing of Retail Payments in Ireland," Quarterly Bulletin Articles, Central Bank of Ireland, pages 74-84, April.
    9. Alexandrova-Kabadjova, Biliana & Negrín, José Luis, 2009. "What drives the network’s growth? An agent-based study of the payment card market," Working Paper Series 1143, European Central Bank.
    10. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2008_011 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Jakub Górka, 2011. "Rozwój sieci bankomatów w Polsce a opłaty interchange i surchange," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 7-8, pages 89-112.
    12. Marc BOURREAU & Tommaso VALLETTI, 2015. "Competition and Interoperability in Mobile Money Platform Markets: What Works and What Doesn’t?," Communications & Strategies, IDATE, Com&Strat dept., vol. 1(99), pages 11-32, 3rd quart.
    13. Takala, Kari & Virén, Matti, 2008. "Efficiency and costs of payments : some new evidence from Finland," Research Discussion Papers 11/2008, Bank of Finland.
    14. Verdier, Marianne, 2012. "Interchange fees and inefficiencies in the substitution between debit cards and cash," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 682-696.
    15. Takala, Kari & Virén, Matti, 2008. "Efficiency and costs of payments: some new evidence from Finland," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 11/2008, Bank of Finland.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cash payments; Card payments; Social costs; Private costs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity

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