Retail payments

• Unmet Payment Needs and a Central Bank Digital Currency

  Staff discussion paper 2023-15 Christopher Henry, Walter Engert, Alexandra Sutton-Lalani, Sebastian Hernandez, Darcey McVanel, Kim Huynh

  We discuss the payment habits of Canadians both in the current payment environment and in a hypothetical cashless environment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O54 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech, Retail payments

• Privacy-Preserving Post-Quantum Credentials for Digital Payments

  Staff working paper 2023-33 Raza Ali Kazmi, Duc-Phong Le, Cyrus Minwalla

  Digital payments and decentralized systems enable the creation of new financial products and services for users. One core challenge in digital payments is the need to protect users from fraud and abuse while retaining privacy in individual transactions. We propose a pseudonymous credential scheme for use in payment systems to tackle this problem.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, G, G2, G21, O, O3, O31 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments

• A central bank digital currency for offline payments

  Staff analytical note 2023-2 Cyrus Minwalla, John Miedema, Sebastian Hernandez, Alexandra Sutton-Lalani

  Offline functionality is a key consideration for a potential CBDC. We describe the different types of offline functionality based on their duration outside of network connection—either intermittent (for short periods) or extended (for longer periods). We discuss the advantages and drawbacks of each and consider implications for end-user devices, system resilience and universal accessibility.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E51, E58, O, O3, O31 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments

• The 2021–22 Merchant Acceptance Survey Pilot Study

  Staff discussion paper 2023-1 Angelika Welte, Joy Wu

  The rise in digital payment innovations has spurred a discussion about the future of cash at the point of sale. The Bank conducted the 2021–22 Merchant Acceptance Survey Pilot Study to study trends in merchant cash acceptance and monitor conditions for the potential issuance of a central bank digital currency.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C8, D, D2, D22, E, E4, L, L2 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech, Retail payments

• 2021 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report

  Staff discussion paper 2022-23 Christopher Henry, Matthew Shimoda, Julia Zhu

  We present results from the 2021 Methods-of-Payment Survey, including updated payment shares. We highlight long-term trends and provide additional context for results with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments

• The Relative Benefits and Risks of Stablecoins as a Means of Payment: A Case Study Perspective

  Staff discussion paper 2022-21 Annetta Ho, Sriram Darbha, Yuliya Gorelkina, Alejandro García

  Our paper contributes to the discussion about the utility of stablecoins for retail payments through an objective, evidence-based approach that compares stablecoins with traditional retail payment methods. The paper also provides insights that could be useful in the design of central bank digital currencies.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): D, D7, D78, O, O3, O38 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments

• PayTech and the D(ata) N(etwork) A(ctivities) of BigTech Platforms

  Staff working paper 2022-35 Jonathan Chiu, Thorsten Koeppl

  Why do BigTech platforms introduce payment services? We explore this using a model in which a monopoly platform faces a trade-off between the costs associated with privacy concerns and the revenue from data services. We then analyze the feedback effects between data and payments.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D8, E, E4, E42, L, L1 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments

• Identifying Financially Remote First Nations Reserves

  Staff discussion paper 2022-11 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Kim Huynh, Daneal O’Habib

  Chen et al. (2021) show that almost one-third of First Nations band offices in Canada are within 1 kilometre (km) of an automated banking machine (ABM) or financial institution (FI) branch and more than half are within 5 km.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, G, G2, G21 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Cash and COVID-19: What happened in 2021

  Staff discussion paper 2022-8 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Kim Huynh, Daneal O’Habib, Joy Wu, Julia Zhu

  Using data from the Bank Note Distribution System and consumer surveys, we find that bank notes in circulation remained high through 2021. Canadians continued to rely on electronic methods of payment, but a significant share also continued using cash for payments.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O54 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments

• Equilibrium in Two-Sided Markets for Payments: Consumer Awareness and the Welfare Cost of the Interchange Fee

  Staff working paper 2022-15 Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls, Oleksandr Shcherbakov

  We construct and estimate a structural two-stage model of equilibrium in a market for payments in order to quantify the network externalities and identify the main determinants of consumer and merchant decisions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E42, L, L1, L14 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments