Hábitos de Pago en Costa Rica

This document studies the payments habits of economic agents in Costa Rica. With that purpose a survey has been done, with a representative sample of 929 consumers, the survey covered all provinces, and interviews were conducted in both urban and rural areas. The survey results indicate a general preference for using debit and credit cards over cash. This preference is more marked the larger the amount of the transaction is. The survey found that 76% of respondents indicated having some type of bank account, which is above what other studies have found for other Latin American countries. It was found that on average a consumer carries about three thousand colones in cash. The survey also notes an emerging use of Internet for shopping and goods and services. The results of the survey fill some information gaps regarding the behavior of economic agents, and therefore allow a better estimate of the social cost of transaction.