Merchant fees and reward programs generate an implicit monetary transfer to credit card users from non-card (or cash) users because merchants generally do not set differential prices for card users to recoup the costs of fees and rewards. On average, each cash-using household pays $149 to...

Using the results of a survey on accepted means of payment, the authors examine merchant preferences and perceptions of retail payment reliability, risk, and costs; the share of each type of payment method over total sales; and the costs involved in accepting payments. Models are developed for...

Using data from a 2004 survey of the Canadian public, the authors study the role of convenience and risk in consumers' use of cash relative to debit and credit cards. The authors find that consumers who perceive debit cards and credit cards to be more convenient and less risky than cash use them...

In Denmark the most frequent means of payment are cash and dankort. A survey study of Danish payment behaviour reveals that older citizens as well as low-income groups in particular prefer cash. A recent change in Danish surcharge regulation permits retailers to charge a fee when receiving...

We develop a theory that rationalizes the use of a dominant unit of account in an economy. Agents enter into non-contingent contracts with a variety of business partners. Trade unfolds sequentially in credit chains and is subject to random matching. By using a dominant unit of account, agents...

An indexed unit of account is a money analogue, used to express prices; the unit's" purchasing power is defined by an index. Indexed units of account are not true money in that" they are not used as a medium of exchange. The first successful indexed unit of account Unidad de Fomento (UF) has...

The growing economic literature dedicated to payment instruments mainly focus on payments at point of sale. Yet, credit transfers and direct debits used in bill payments are much more used in the Euro area than checks, payments cards and other payment instruments. The main objective of this...

"Global trade and colonial extraction drew the early modern world closer together, carving out circuits in which silver and gold crossed oceans and continents.1 What forms did these metals take, and whose practices constituted these forms? The 3,500 coins in the collection of the Dutch lawyer...