Technological Change in the Field of Payment Instruments – Long-Term Implications for Monetary Policy and Competition Policy

In July 2010 the Oesterreichische Nationalbank hosted a workshop entitled “Consumer Payment Choice and the Demand for Money,” which provided insights into state-of-the-art research on payment habits and cash demand. The papers presented showed that there is a vast potential for new research in this field – in particular, when new theoretical approaches are combined with newly available micro data on household payment habits. This holds the promise of uncovering interesting new findings on the implications of technological change in the field of payment instruments for monetary and competition policies. Thus, it is of substantial importance for central banks to participate in such research activities.