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The economics of payment card fee structure: what drives payment card rewards?

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Fumiko Hayashi
Abstract

This paper investigates potential market forces that cause payment card rewards even when providing payment card rewards is not the most efficient. Three factors-oligopolistic merchants, output-maximizing card networks, and the merchant's inability to set different prices across payment methods-may potentially explain the prevalence of payment card rewards programs in the United States today. The paper also points out that competition among card networks may potentially make payment rewards too generous, and thus deteriorate social welfare and its distribution. The situation may potentially warrant public policy interventions.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in its series Research Working Paper with number RWP 08-07.

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Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedkrw:rwp08-07

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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. Daniel D. Garcia-Swartz & Robert W. Hahn & Anne Layne-Farrar, 2006. "The Move Toward a Cashless Society: A Closer Look at Payment Instrument Economics," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 5(2), pages 175-198, June. [Downloadable!]
  2. Jean-Charles Rochet Author-Email: rochet@cict.fr Author-Workplace-Name: IDEI, University of Toulouse & Jean Tirole Author-Email: tirole@cict.fr Author-Workplace-Name: IDEI, University of Toulouse, 2006. "Two-Sided Markets: A Progress Report," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 37(3), pages 645-667, Autumn.
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  3. repec:bep:eaptop:v:3:y:2003:i:1:p:1069-1069 is not listed on IDEAS
  4. Mark Armstrong Author-Email: mark.armstrong@ucl.ac.uk, 2006. "Competition in Two-Sided Markets," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 37(3), pages 668-691, Autumn.
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  5. Rochet, Jean-Charles & Tirole, Jean, 2003. "Platform Competition in Two-Sided Markets," IDEI Working Papers 152, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Fumiko Hayashi, 2006. "A Puzzle of Card Payment Pricing: Why Are Merchants Still Accepting Card Payments?," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 144-174, March. [Downloadable!]
  7. Schmalensee, Richard, 2002. "Payment Systems and Interchange Fees," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(2), pages 103-22, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Fumiko Hayashi, 2006. "Pricing and welfare implications of payment card network competition," Payments System Research Working Paper PSR WP 06-03, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
  9. James McAndrews & Zhu Wang, 2006. "Microfoundations of two-sided markets: the payment card example," Payments System Research Working Paper PSR WP 06-01, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Marc Rysman, 2006. "An Empirical Analysis of Payment Card Usage," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2006-002, Boston University - Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  11. Graeme Guthrie & Julian Wright, 2003. "Competing Payment Schemes," Departmental Working Papers wp0311, National University of Singapore, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  12. Daniel D. Garcia-Swartz & Robert W. Hahn & Anne Layne-Farrar, 2006. "The Move Toward a Cashless Society: Calculating the Costs and Benefits," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 5(2), pages 199-228, June. [Downloadable!]
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