With the rapid digitization of financial transactions, central banks have given considerable focus in recent years to the research and development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). While CBDCs could offer several advantages, there are concerns about end-user privacy. Traditional...

Most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are implementing fast payment systems (FPS), often with the goal of enhancing access to and use of affordable financial services. FPS offer immediate transfer of funds on a 24x7 basis between end users. This paper assesses how FPS can promote...

Convenience and security are the two key attributes that consumers consider when choosing between payment technologies. We examine how consumers react to an exogenous change to the convenience and security of digital payments. We study an increase in the 'tap-and-go' limit for contactless...

Payment costs for consumers are difficult to determine, are not recorded in an internationally harmonized manner and vary significantly from country to country. They are incurred in many forms, for example as fees for account management, for cash withdrawals at ATMs or for payment cards; but...

This paper examines the transition from exclusive card network-acquirer relationships to a multi-acquiring model. Using the case of Uruguay's adoption of multi-acquiring in 2022, as part of a broader financial inclusion program, we document significant market dynamics, including restructured...

This paper presents the findings derived from a comprehensive survey conducted by the Central Bank of Malta, in collaboration with the National Statistics Office, with the aim of analysing payment habits in Malta. The research explores individuals' perspectives on various aspects, including...

Inadequate financial literacy and overconfidence in financial knowledge, coupled with the use of mobile payments (MPs), may contribute to harmful financial behaviors. While the relationship between financial knowledge confidence and financial behaviors is well documented, there is limited...

The pros and cons of CBDCs have been examined in numerous writings but much less research has focused on specific economies or regions. This paper attempts to fill that gap for the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies. It first examines the views of central banks in the region toward...

We field a series of experiments in a population-representative survey of European consumers to examine their attitudes towards the possible introduction of a digital euro. First, we show that a short video explaining the key features of the digital euro is effective in changing consumers'...

Purpose Traditional payment systems based on cash and bank cards are being replaced by new innovative formats. This research analyzes the success factors in the adoption by customers of Bizum, a peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment system widely used in Spain. This study proposes a theoretical...

The retail cross-border payments market is valued at more than $800 billion of transactions per year, and is growing. Despite this, retail cross-border transactions lag domestic ones in terms of cost, speed, access and transparency because of the complex processes they involve. This complexity...

When paying with a payment instrument in fiat currency within the EU, the transaction is covered by the PSD2, which provides prudent protection for payers and their payment instruments. When the transaction is instead executed in bitcoin, an unbacked crypto-asset, the transaction is not covered...

Digital payments have increasingly been adopted by consumers and firms in Latin America and the Caribbean. This policy research paper analyzes recent post-pandemic data on digital payments in the region to describe adoption patterns, measure adoption gaps, and identify adoption barriers. The...

The adoption of electronic payments has increased globally, driving economic growth by enabling smoother transactions. Digital payments enhance speed, security, trust, and efficiency, prompting governments to implement policies that promote financial inclusion through new payment technologies....

We frame the wide spectrum of possible system architectures for an online retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) and identify a promising architecture well-suited for basic payments. We select OpenCBDC 2PC, a representative system design that fits this architecture and analyze it using a...

Forecasting banking system liquidity is crucial for the effective monetary policy implementation. This study investigates the effectiveness of various econometric and machine learning models in predicting the autonomous factors of banking system liquidity. The research compares widely used...

The largest cash transfer program in Jordan, operated by the National Aid Fund (NAF), regularly benefited approximately 100,000 households by the end of 2018 (almost 10 percent of the population. NAF provides cash transfers in the range of US $28 to $254 to 16 different categories of vulnerable...

Since its creation in 2011, the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (MIDIS) has been the governing body of social protection in Peru, with responsibility for the three largest conditional transfer programs. The largest program, JUNTOS, reaches around 724,000 households in poverty and...

This study analyses the intensity of competition in the online payment sector in the EEA, with a focus on 14 countries. For the purpose of the study, online payments refer to electronic payments made by consumers to merchants for goods and services purchased online. A novel database allows to...

We use agent-based modelling to build a digital twin of the retail payment system, where heterogeneous consumers and merchants interact, learn, and adapt as they meet and use different monies and payment instruments. As we introduce an rCBDC, the model simulates its adoption. We calibrate this...

This paper introduces a novel monthly consumption indicator: the IZA/Fable Swipe consumption index for Germany. It is based on credit card transactions data collected and anonymised by Fable Data from 2017 onwards. We study some of the properties of the data and use a so-called "one year look...

This paper analyzes the public use of Retail Central Bank Digital Currency (rCBDC) during a pilot program in Thailand. For the first time, it utilizes detailed transactional data, including demographic information of users from a real-world rCBDC pilot. The study empirically examines the...

This paper explores the current use of crypto-assets for payments, focusing mostly on unbacked crypto-assets, while selectively referring to stablecoins. Although some specific characteristics of crypto-assets, such as their price volatility and unclear legal settlement, render them unsuitable...

Retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and fast payment systems (FPS) share a number of similarities. Both allow for instant transactions for end users, can rely on underlying infrastructures operated by the central bank and can allow for an important role for private payment service...

This volume provides insights and lessons learned from a range of fast payment systems (FPS). Over 100 jurisdictions worldwide, including 15 jurisdictions in Latin America, have implemented FPS, which are a promising tool to improve people's payment experience, access to financial services and...

This article focuses on the fastest-growing consumer credit segment usually associated with e-commerce, but increasingly offered for brick-and-mortar shopping too. The purpose of the study was to identify how, and the extent to which, specific aspects of consumer behaviour - particularly in...

The report has four main chapters, followed by the conclusion and policy recommendations. Chapter 2, context provides overviews of the three programs, including enrollment, the payment process, and demographic characteristics of the beneficiaries. Chapter 3 explains the payment architecture used...