Merchants pay banks a fee on every credit card transaction. These credit card transactions cost American merchants an average of six times the total cost of cash transactions. The variation among credit cards is also large, with some cards, such as rewards cards, costing merchants twice as much...

Credit card transactions cost American merchants six times as much as cash transactions. American merchants paid nearly $40 billion to accept credit cards last year. Why, then, do consumers pay the same price for purchases, regardless of their means of payment? The answer lies in a set of credit...

Merchants pay banks a fee on every credit card transaction. These credit card transactions cost American merchants an average of six times the total cost of cash transactions. The variation in fees among credit cards is also large, with some cards, such as rewards cards, costing merchants twice...

Who pays for credit card rewards? This Article demonstrates empirically that credit card rewards programs are funded in part by a highly regressive, lt;igt;sub rosalt;/igt; subsidization of affluent credit consumers by poor cash consumers. In its worst form, food stamp recipients are subsidizing...

Who pays for credit card rewards? This Article demonstrates that credit card rewards programs are funded in part by a highly regressive, sub rosa subsidization of affluent credit consumers by poor cash consumers. In its worst form, food stamp recipients are subsidizing frequent flier miles. The...