Estimating Cash Usage: The Impact of Survey Design on Research Outcomes

We employ a unique dataset of transaction records to analyse the impact of survey set-up on consumers’ payments registration behaviour. Survey data are used for econometric analyses and validated against other payments data. The results reveal that the length of the registration period influences consumers’ registration of payments. Measurement errors are minimised when consumers use a self-reported transaction diary for one single day. Around 40 % of the transactions registered in a one-day survey are missed out in a one-week survey. Apart from payments research, the results are, among others, also relevant for household expenditure and marketing research. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013