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The Costs of Paying – Private and Social Costs of Cash and Card Payments

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Author Info
Bergman, Mats () (Department of Economics)
Guibourg, Gabriela () (Research Department, Central Bank of Sweden)
Segendorf, Björn () (International Secretariat)
Abstract

Despite the central role of payments in theoretical and policy oriented economics, there is surprisingly little known about the costs of different payment instruments. We estimate social and private costs of cash, debit and credit card payments in Sweden in 2002. The combined social cost of providing these payment services is approximately 0.4 per cent of GDP. Debit and credit cards are socially less costly than cash for payments above EURO 8 and EURO 18, respectively. Corresponding thresholds for consumers’ private costs are somewhat higher. Data indicate a too extensive use of cash relative to card payments in terms of both private and social costs.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden) in its series Working Paper Series with number 212.

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Length: 37 pages
Date of creation: 01 Sep 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0212

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Postal: Sveriges Riksbank, SE-103 37 Stockholm, Sweden
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Related research
Keywords: Cash payments; Card payments; Social costs; Private costs;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Capital and Total Factor Productivity; Capacity

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  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. 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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This page was last updated on 2009-11-30.


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