wide use within the United States? Economists' explanations have focused on check "float," which is the interest earned by … explains how check float arises within the U.S. payment system and how float can discourage the adoption of other types of …

. Earlier studies have focused on check “float,” i.e., the time lag between receipt and clearing, as a potential explanation for … the continued popularity of checks. An underlying assumption of these studies is that check float operates as a pure … equilibrium, check float need not act as a transfer. If float can be priced into market transactions, then it has no effect on …