How Do Some Lower-Income Canadians Pay Staff analytical paper 2026-6 Jerry Buckland, Christopher Henry, Wendy Nur, Aidan Romanow-Bear, Stephen Wild Previous research suggests that lower-income Canadians may have unique experiences with the use of payments, including the use of cash and digital payments. We conduct a case study using data from [the Canadian Financial Diaries project/Canadian financial diaries] to gain insight into how some lower-income Canadians pay. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments
Information, Prices and Buyer Entry Staff working paper 2026-4 Mei Dong, Janet Hua Jiang, Ling Sun In markets with costly buyer entry, information transparency about prices draws in buyers, increasing demand-side competition and putting upward pressure on prices. We show that this buyer entry effect may dominate seller competition as emphasized by conventional wisdom and prices and markups may rise with information transparency. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D4, D40, D8, D83, L, L1, L11 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models
Extraordinary Forward Guidance in Canada During the Pandemic Staff analytical paper 2026-1 Christopher S. Sutherland We consider two trade-offs inherent to extraordinary forward guidance (EFG): potency versus flexibility, and the credibility of forward guidance versus the credibility of inflation targeting. We argue that the form of EFG used by the Bank of Canada during the COVID‑19 pandemic balanced both trade-offs relatively well. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): D, D3, D8, D83, D84, E, E3, E37, E5, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Inflation Expectations in Action: Exploring Agents’ Behaviour in a Period of High Inflation Staff discussion paper 2025-18 Naveen Rai, Hayley Touchburn, Matt West Inflation expectations are important to monetary policy decision-makers. Using survey evidence, we examine how firms and consumers react to their inflation expectations during the post-pandemic period of high inflation. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C8, C83, D, D8, D84, E, E3, E31 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures
AI Agents for Cash Management in Payment Systems Staff working paper 2025-35 Iñaki Aldasoro, Ajit Desai Can artificial intelligence (AI) think and act like a cash manager? In this paper we explore how generative AI agents can help manage liquidity, prioritize payments and optimize efficiency in real-time gross settlement systems. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): A, A1, A12, C, C7, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E42, E5, E58 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial system regulation and oversight, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
Uncovering Subjective Models from Survey Expectations Staff working paper 2025-31 Chenyu Hou, Tao Wang This paper shows that survey expectations can be used to uncover how households subjectively think about inflation and unemployment dynamics jointly. The commonly documented "stagflation view", namely the households' tendency to associate inflation with a worse labor market, implies amplified impacts of supply shocks and dampened ones of demand shocks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D8, D84, E, E2, E21, E3, E30, E32, E7, E71 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting
Net Send Limits in the Lynx Payment System: Usage and Implications Staff discussion paper 2025-13 Virgilio B Pasin, Anna Wyllie We study how participants in the Lynx payment system use the net send limit (NSL) tool to control their intraday payment outflow levels. Our results show that participants typically adopt a “set it and forget it” approach to scheduling NSLs and sometimes have distinct intraday NSL adjustment behaviours. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C10, D, D8, D82, E, E4, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G21, G4, G41 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
2024 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report: Cash in an Era of Alternatives Staff discussion paper 2025-12 Marie-Hélène Felt, Anna Chernesky, Angelika Welte We present core findings from the 2024 Methods-of-Payment Survey, highlighting results from both the survey questionnaire and three-day shopping diary. Although cash holdings have increased in nominal terms, we find that cash usage remains unchanged since 2020. Mobile and other alternative payment methods continue to grow in importance. 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
Firm Heterogeneity and Adverse Selection in External Finance: Micro Evidence and Macro Implications Staff working paper 2025-20 Xing Guo, Pablo Ottonello, Thomas Winberry, Toni Whited We develop a heterogeneous firm macro model with private information and quantify the aggregate relevance of asymmetric information. We find that a spike in private information account for 40% of the decline in aggregate investment during the 2007-2009 financial crisis and made monetary stimulus significantly less effective. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, E, E2, E22, E3, E32, E5, E52, G, G3, G30 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Household and business credit, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission
Synthesizing Signals from the Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations Staff discussion paper 2025-11 Jacob Dolinar, Patrick Sabourin, Matt West We introduce the Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations indicator. This indicator provides a summary measure of consumer opinions that we can track over time. We construct three underlying sub-indexes—financial health, labour market and consumer spending—that capture different factors influencing consumers’ daily lives. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, D8, D84, E, E2, E21, E3, E32, E7, E71 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply