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The Pandemic, Cash and Retail Payment Behaviour: Insights from the Future of Payments Database

Author

Listed:
  • Raphael Auer
  • Giulio Cornelli
  • Jon Frost
  • Raphael A. Auer

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a shock to retail payment behaviour. How have the changes differed across countries? What do they imply for the future of cash and digital payments? We assemble a new “Future of Payments” database on retail payment behaviour for up to 95 countries over September 2019 to June 2022. We compare this with measures of the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, using variation in the timing of waves of cases, changes in mobility and lockdown measures across countries. We find that card-not-present payments, payment app downloads and the volume of cash in circulation all rose in weeks of more stringent lockdowns. Changes were less pronounced in countries with higher mobile penetration. However, recent data suggest that some effects reversed once lockdowns were eased, and mobility rebounded.

Suggested Citation

  • Raphael Auer & Giulio Cornelli & Jon Frost & Raphael A. Auer, 2023. "The Pandemic, Cash and Retail Payment Behaviour: Insights from the Future of Payments Database," CESifo Working Paper Series 10258, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10258
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Justus Meyer & Federica Teppa, 2023. "Euro area consumers' payment behaviour and banking digitalisation," Working Papers 772, DNB.
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    3. Sebastian Doerr & Jon Frost & Leonardo Gambacorta & Vatsala Shreeti, 2023. "Big techs in finance," BIS Working Papers 1129, Bank for International Settlements.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    retail payments; cash; Covid-19 pandemic; digital innovation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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