This paper documents the recent performance of European electronic purses. It presents data on 16 such schemes, and compares their penetration and usage rates. These rates are shown to differ substantially. A number of schemes are doing increasingly well and in all probability are here to stay....

In recent years, regulators in various parts of the world have capped interchange fees on debit and credit cards. The justification for the caps rests to a large extent on the argument that these cards have, for certain merchants, become must-take cards rather than ‘wanna-take cards'. That is,...

On December 31st the high-profile test of stored-value cards in Manhattan's Upper West Side, the most important U.S. pilot to date, drew to a close after a 15-month run. The results were disappointing. This paper describes the organization of the trial, analyzes the results, and rounds up...