In financial markets where consumers can only be reached through an advisor, product providers usually compete indirectly for consumers through commissions to advisors. Therefore, a regulatory ban on commissions may restrict this competition. We formulate a theoretical model in order to study...

A controversial aspect of payment cards has been the “no-surcharge rule.” This rule, which is part of the contract between the card provider and a merchant, states that the merchant cannot charge a customer who pays by card more than a customer who pays by cash. In this paper we consider the...