Risk Attitudes do not explain Cash Holdings

Despite the long-termtrend away from cash and the widespread adoption and acceptance of payment cards, many people still carry considerable amounts of cash. In a preregistered study, I examine whether risk attitudes can explain consumers’ persistent cash holdings. To self-insure against the possibility of being unable to pay by card, risk-averse consumers are expected to hold cash in larger amounts. Moreover, consumers who overweight the small probability of card non-acceptance and those who prefer early resolution of uncertainty are also predicted to carry more cash. I test these predictions using data from the RAND American Life Panel (N = 989) and on experimental preference data from Swiss consumers (N = 1’666). 86% of U.S. and 95% of Swiss individuals carry cash in their wallets, with an average of USD 64 and CHF 94, respectively. Neither risk aversion, probability weighting, nor a preference for early resolution of uncertainty are consistently related to cash holdings.