IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/upd/utmpwp/036.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Going Cashless: Evidence from Japan’s Point Reward Program

Author

Listed:
  • Toshitaka Sekine

    (Hitotsubashi University)

  • Toshiaki Shoji

    (Seikei University)

  • Tsutomu Watanabe

    (University of Tokyo)

Abstract

In October 2019, the Japanese government started a unique program that offered points (discounts) for cashless payments. Using credit card transaction data, we compare credit card usage at restaurants that participated in this program and those that did not. Our main findings are as follows. First, the number of card users was 9- 12 percent higher in participating than in non-participating restaurants. Second, the positive impact of the program on the number of card users persisted even after the program ended in June 2020, indicating that the program had a lasting effect to promote cashless payments. Third, the impact of the program was significantly larger at restaurants that started accepting credit cards more recently, since the share of cash users at those restaurants was larger just before the program started. Finally, two-thirds of the difference between participating and non-participating restaurants disappeared during the first surge of COVID-19 in April 2020, suggesting that customers switched from cash to cashless payments to reduce the risk of infection both at participating and non-participating restaurants, but the extent to which customers switched was larger at non-participating restaurants with a larger share of cash users just before the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Toshitaka Sekine & Toshiaki Shoji & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2021. "Going Cashless: Evidence from Japan’s Point Reward Program," Working Papers on Central Bank Communication 036, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:upd:utmpwp:036
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.centralbank.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/cb-wp036.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Klee, Elizabeth, 2008. "How people pay: Evidence from grocery store data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 526-541, April.
    2. Heng Chen & Walter Engert & Marie-Hélène Felt & Kim P. Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Daneal O'Habib & Julia Zhu, 2021. "Cash and COVID-19: The impact of the second wave in Canada," Discussion Papers 2021-12, Bank of Canada.
    3. Naoki Wakamori & Angelika Welte, 2017. "Why Do Shoppers Use Cash? Evidence from Shopping Diary Data," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(1), pages 115-169, February.
    4. Tomasz Piotr Wisniewski & Michal Polasik & Radoslaw Kotkowski & Andrea Moro, 2024. "Switching from Cash to Cashless Payments during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 20(3), pages 303-371, July.
    5. Sergei Koulayev & Marc Rysman & Scott Schuh & Joanna Stavins, 2016. "Explaining adoption and use of payment instruments by US consumers," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 47(2), pages 293-325, May.
    6. Jonathan A. Parker & Michael Woodford, 2015. "NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2014, Volume 29," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number park14-1.
    7. Ching, Andrew T. & Hayashi, Fumiko, 2010. "Payment card rewards programs and consumer payment choice," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1773-1787, August.
    8. Alvarez, Fernando & Lippi, Francesco, 2017. "Cash burns: An inventory model with a cash-credit choice," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 99-112.
    9. Schmiedel, Heiko & Kostova, Gergana & Ruttenberg, Wiebe, 2012. "The social and private costs of retail payment instruments: a European perspective," Occasional Paper Series 137, European Central Bank.
    10. Serhan Cevik, 2020. "Dirty money: Does the risk of infectious disease lower demand for cash?," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 460-471, December.
    11. Heng Chen & Walter Engert & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Mitchell Nicholson & Julia Zhu, 2020. "Cash and COVID-19: The impact of the pandemic on demand for and use of cash," Discussion Papers 2020-6, Bank of Canada.
    12. Schmiedel, Heiko & Kostova, Gergana & Ruttenberg, Wiebe, 2012. "The social and private costs of retail payment instruments: a European perspective," Occasional Paper Series 137, European Central Bank.
    13. Wang, Zhu & Wolman, Alexander L., 2016. "Payment choice and currency use: Insights from two billion retail transactions," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 94-115.
    14. Helene Bourguignon & Renato Gomes & Jean Tirole, 2014. "Card Surcharges and Cash Discounts: Simple Economics and Regulatory Lessons," CPI Journal, Competition Policy International, vol. 10.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Toshitaka Sekine & Toshiaki Shoji & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2021. "Going Cashless: Evidence from Japan’s Point Reward Program," CARF F-Series CARF-F-525, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    2. Toshitaka Sekine & Toshiaki Shoji & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2022. "Going Cashless: Government’s Point Reward Program vs. COVID-19," Working Papers on Central Bank Communication 040, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics.
    3. Toshitaka Sekine & Toshiaki Shoji & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2022. "Going Cashless: Government’s Point Reward Program vs. COVID-19," CARF F-Series CARF-F-538, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    4. Semerikova, E., 2024. "Cashless payments beyond access: What influences the intensity of use?," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 64(3), pages 171-188.
    5. Shy, Oz, 2021. "Cashless stores and cash users," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 622-638.
    6. Shy, Oz, 2020. "Low-income consumers and payment choice," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(4), pages 292-300.
    7. Tamás Briglevics & Scott Schuh, 2020. "This Is What's in Your Wallet...and Here's How You Use It," Working Papers 20-04, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    8. Martin Brown & Nicole Hentschel & Hannes Mettler & Helmut Stix, 2020. "Financial Innovation, Payment Choice and Cash Demand - Causal Evidence from the Staggered Introduction of Contactless Debit Cards," Working Papers on Finance 2002, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.
    9. Martin Brown & Nicole Hentschel & Hannes Mettler & Helmut Stix, 2020. "Financial Innovation, Payment Choice and Cash Demand – Causal Evidence from the Staggered Introduction of Contactless Debit Cards (Martin Brown,Nicole Hentschel, Hannes Mettler, Helmut Stix)," Working Papers 230, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    10. Jonker, Nicole & van der Cruijsen, Carin & Bijlsma, Michiel & Bolt, Wilko, 2022. "Pandemic payment patterns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    11. Arango, Carlos & Huynh, Kim P. & Sabetti, Leonard, 2015. "Consumer payment choice: Merchant card acceptance versus pricing incentives," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 130-141.
    12. Carin van der Cruijsen & Lola Hernandez & Nicole Jonker, 2017. "In love with the debit card but still married to cash," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(30), pages 2989-3004, June.
    13. Vania Silva & Esmeralda Ramalho & Carlos Vieira, 2016. "Is EMV adoption changing card payments? Evidence from the European Union," CEFAGE-UE Working Papers 2016_05, University of Evora, CEFAGE-UE (Portugal).
    14. Martikainen, Emmi & Schmiedel, Heiko & Takalo, Tuomas, 2015. "Convergence of European retail payments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 81-91.
    15. Nur Annisa Hasniawati & Eva R. Lase & Akhis R. Hutabarat, 2020. "Indonesian Household Payment Choice: A Nested Logit Analysis," Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, Central bank of Montenegro, vol. 9(special i), pages 291-313.
    16. Wang, Zhu & Wolman, Alexander L., 2016. "Payment choice and currency use: Insights from two billion retail transactions," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 94-115.
    17. Vânia G. Silva & Esmeralda A. Ramalho & Carlos R. Vieira, 2017. "The Use of Cheques in the European Union: A Cross-Country Analysis," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 581-602, July.
    18. Brown, Martin & Hentschel, Nicole & Mettler, Hannes & Stix, Helmut, 2022. "The convenience of electronic payments and consumer cash demand," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 86-102.
    19. Guerino Ardizzi & Andrea Nobili & Giorgia Rocco, 2020. "A game changer in payment habits: evidence from daily data during a pandemic," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 591, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    20. Carlos A. Arango-Arango & Héctor M. Zárate-Solano & Nicolás F. Suárez-Ariza, 2017. "Determinantes del Acceso, Uso y Aceptación de Pagos Electrónicos en Colombia," Borradores de Economia 999, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cash and cashless payments; technology adoption; promotion program; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:upd:utmpwp:036. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Yayoi Hatano (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fetokjp.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.