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The economics of two-sided payment card markets: pricing, adoption and usage

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James McAndrews
Zhu Wang

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Abstract

This paper provides a new theory for two-sided payment card markets by positing better microfoundations. Adopting payment cards by consumers and merchants requires a fixed cost, but yields lower marginal costs of making payments. Considering this together with the heterogeneity of consumer income and merchant size, our theory derives card adoption and usage pattern consistent with cross-section and time-series evidence. Our analyses also help explain the observed card pricing pattern, particularly the rising merchant (interchange) fees over time. This is because a private card network, besides internalizing the two-sided market externality, has the incentive to inflate the card transaction value. We show that privately determined card pricing, adoption and usage tend to deviate from the social optimum, and imposing a ceiling on interchange fees may improve consumer welfare.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in its series Research Working Paper with number RWP 08-12.

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Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedkrw:rwp08-12

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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!]
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  2. Sujit Chakravorti, 2003. "Theory of Credit Card Networks: A Survey of the Literature," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 2(2), pages 50-68, June. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Zhu Wang, 2008. "Income Distribution, Market Size and the Evolution of Industry," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(3), pages 542-565, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. 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!]
  5. Joseph Farrell, 2006. "Efficiency and Competition between Payment Instruments," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 26-44, March. [Downloadable!]
  6. 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!]
  7. 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)
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  8. 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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  9. 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!]
  10. Zhu Wang, 2006. "Market structure and credit card pricing: what drives the interchange?," Payments System Research Working Paper PSR WP 06-04, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
  11. 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!]
  12. Robert M. Hunt, 2003. "An Introduction to the Economics of Payment Card Networks," Review of Network Economics, Concept Economics, vol. 2(2), pages 80-96, June. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Richard J. Sullivan & Zhu Wang, 2005. "Internet banking: an exploration in technology diffusion and impact," Payments System Research Working Paper PSR WP 05-05, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
  14. 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.
  15. Wright, Julian, 2003. "Optimal card payment systems," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 587-612, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(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. Robin A. Prager & Mark D. Manuszak & Elizabeth K. Kiser & Ron Borzekowski, 2009. "Interchange fees and payment card networks: economics, industry developments, and policy issues," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2009-23, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  2. 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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