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The impact of electronic financial payments on crime

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  • Armey, Laura E.
  • Lipow, Jonathan
  • Webb, Natalie J.

Abstract

In this paper, we test the hypothesis that access to electronic payments may reduce crime. Our results suggest that there is a negative and significant statistical relationship between access to electronic payments and the incidence of economic crimes such as robbery and burglary, while electronic transactions do little to reduce the incidence of non-economic crimes such as homicide and rape. This paper provides evidence that policies and technologies that enable the proliferation of cashless transactions have the desired impact of deterring crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Armey, Laura E. & Lipow, Jonathan & Webb, Natalie J., 2014. "The impact of electronic financial payments on crime," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 46-57.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iepoli:v:29:y:2014:i:c:p:46-57
    DOI: 10.1016/j.infoecopol.2014.10.002
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard Wright & Erdal Tekin & Volkan Topalli & Chandler McClellan & Timothy Dickinson & Richard Rosenfeld, 2017. "Less Cash, Less Crime: Evidence from the Electronic Benefit Transfer Program," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(2), pages 361-383.
    2. Kawsar Ahmad & Arifuzzaman Arifuzzaman & Abdullah Al Mamun & Junayed Md Khaled Bin Oalid, 2021. "Impact of consumer’s security, benefits and usefulness towards cashless transaction within Malaysian university student," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(2), pages 238-250, March.
    3. Freddy Castro Badillo & Daniela Londoño Avellaneda & Federico Medina Cifuentes, 2022. "Transacciones en línea y bienestar financiero," Coyuntura Económica, Fedesarrollo, vol. 52, pages 127-150, December.
    4. Fernando Borraz & Ignacio Munyo, 2020. "Conditional Cash Transfers and Crime: Higher Income but also Better Loot," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1804-1813.
    5. Brian Blankenship & Renanah Miles Joyce, 2020. "Purchasing Power: US Overseas Defense Spending and Military Statecraft," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(2-3), pages 545-573, February.
    6. Luis Raúl Rodríguez-Reyes, 2018. "A Model of the Indirect Effect of Crime on the Demand for Money," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 13(4), pages 571-584, Octubre-D.
    7. Nicholas Clerkin & Andrew Hanson, 2021. "Debit Card Incentives and Consumer Behavior: Evidence Using Natural Experiment Methods," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 135-155, December.
    8. Hock-Han Tee & Hway-Boon Ong, 2016. "Cashless payment and economic growth," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 2(1), pages 1-9, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electronic financial transactions; Crime; Cashless economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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