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Digital Payments and Business Resilience : Evidence in the Time of COVID-19

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  • Camara,Youssouf

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers were encouraged to use contactless payments. An important policy question is whether merchants with contactless payment technology are more resilient to an external health shock than those without. Using a matched difference-in-differences setting on unique merchant card-sales transaction data, this study finds that merchants with contactless payment technology increase their card-sales amount (count) on average by 8.3 percent (10.2 percent) compared with merchants without this technology. It also finds evidence that accepting contactless payment during an epidemic shock helps merchants attract more new consumers. Digital payment technology continues to support sales growth, especially for small businesses and new entrepreneurs.

Suggested Citation

  • Camara,Youssouf, 2021. "Digital Payments and Business Resilience : Evidence in the Time of COVID-19," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9665, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9665
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    References listed on IDEAS

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