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Market structure and credit card pricing: what drives the interchange?

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Author Info
Zhu Wang

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Abstract

This paper presents a model for the credit card industry, where oligopolistic card networks price their products in a complex marketplace with competing payment instruments, rational consumers/merchants, and competitive card issuers/acquirers. The analysis suggests that card networks demand higher interchange fees to maximize card issuers' profits as card payments become more efficient. At equilibrium, consumer rewards and card transaction volume also increase, while consumer surplus and merchant profits may not. The model provides a unified framework to evaluate credit card industry performance and government interventions.

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File URL: http://www.kansascityfed.org/Econres/PSR/RWP/Wang-WP-06-04.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in its series Payments System Research Working Paper with number PSR WP 06-04.

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Date of creation: 2006
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedkpw:psrwp06-04

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Related research
Keywords: Credit cards ; Markets;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Stuart E. Weiner & Julian Wright, 2005. "Interchange fees in various countries: developments and determinants," Payments System Research Working Paper PSR WP 05-01, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Joseph Farrell, 2006. "Efficiency and Competition between Payment Instruments," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 26-44, March. [Downloadable!]
  3. Jean-Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2006. "Externalities and Regulation in Card Payment Systems," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 1-14, March. [Downloadable!]
  4. Julian Wright, 2004. "The Determinants of Optimal Interchange Fees in Payment Systems," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(1), pages 1-26, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Schmalensee, Richard, 2002. "Payment Systems and Interchange Fees," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(2), pages 103-22, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Jean-Charles Rochet, 2003. "The Theory of Interchange Fees: A Synthesis of Recent Contributions," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 2(2), pages 97-124, June. [Downloadable!]
  7. Jean-Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2003. "An Economic Analysis of the Determination of Interchange Fees in Payment Card Systems," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 2(2), pages 69-79, June. [Downloadable!]
  8. Jean-Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2002. "Cooperation Among Competitors: Some Economics Of Payment Card Associations," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 33(4), pages 549-570, Winter.
  9. James McAndrews & Zhu Wang, 2007. "Microfoundations of Two-sided Markets: The Payment Card Example," DNB Working Papers 128, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Wright, Julian, 2003. "Optimal card payment systems," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 587-612, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Marius Schwartz & Daniel R. Vincent, 2006. "The No Surcharge Rule and Card User Rebates: Vertical Control by a Payment Network," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 72-102, March. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. James McAndrews & Zhu Wang, 2008. "The economics of two-sided payment card markets: pricing, adoption and usage," Research Working Paper RWP 08-12, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
  2. Wilko Bolt & Sujit Chakravorti, 2008. "Economics of payment cards: a status report," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, issue Q IV, pages 15-27. [Downloadable!]
  3. Oz Shy & Zhu Wang, 2008. "Why do card issuers charge proportional fees?," Research Working Paper RWP 08-13, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
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