Abstract This paper surveys the economics literature on payment cards, focusing on the role of interchange fees, merchant internalization, surcharging and two-sided markets. The paper aims to integrate a wide range of theoretical papers with the relevant empirical research and important policy...

In this paper I review the recent paper by DeGraba (2000) that proposes a version of Bill and Keep (called COBAK) as the efficient interconnection regime. I argue while the proposed interconnection regime is suitable for some types of interconnection it would be quite undesirable for others. I...

In this paper, I consider eight basic fallacies that can arise from using conventional wisdom from one-sided markets in two-sided market settings. These fallacies are illustrated using statements made in the context of regulatory investigations into credit card schemes in Australia and the...

Interchange fees and related issues in payment card markets have been the focus of considerable attention recently. The academic community and public officials have begun to scrutinize these markets. Meanwhile, these markets continue to experience dynamic change as card payments account for an...

This short article explains why merchants accept expensive payment cards when merchants are Cournot competitors. The same acceptance rule as the Hotelling price competition model of Rochet and Tirole (2002) is derived. Unlike the models used in the existing literature, in the Cournot setting...