In the United States, we now take our ability to pay with plastic for granted. In other parts of the world, however, the establishment of a "credit-card economy" has not been easy. In countries without a history of economic stability, how can banks decide who should be given a credit card? How do markets convince people to use cards, make their transactions visible to authorities, assume the potential risk of fraud, and pay to use their own money? Why should merchants agree to pay extra if customers use cards instead of cash? In Plastic Money, Akos Rona-Tas and Alya Guseva tell the story of how banks overcame these and other quandaries as they constructed markets for credit cards in eight postcommunist countries. We know how markets work once they are built, but this book develops a unique framework for understanding how markets are engineered from the ground up—by selecting key players, ensuring cooperation, and providing conditions for the valuation of a product. Drawing on extensive interviews and fieldwork, the authors chronicle how banks overcame these hurdles and generated a desire for their new product in the midst of a transition from communism to capitalism.
The definitive account of the trillion-dollar payment card industry. The payment card business has evolved from its inception in the 1950s as a way to handle payment for expense-account lunches (the Diners Club card) into today's complex, sprawling industry that drives trillions of dollars in transaction volume each year. Paying with Plastic is the definitive source on an industry that has revolutionized the way we borrow and spend. More than a history book, Paying with Plastic delivers an entertaining discussion of the impact of an industry that epitomizes the notion of two-sided markets: those in which two or more customer groups receive value only if all sides are actively engaged. New to this second edition, the two-sided market discussion provides useful insight into the implications of these market dynamics for cardholder rewards, merchant interchange fees, and card acceptance. The authors, both of whom have researched the industry for more than 25 years, also examine the implications of the recent antitrust cases on the industry as well as other business and technological changes—including the massive consolidation brought about by bank mergers, the rise of the debit card, and the emergence of e-commerce—that could alter the payment card industry dramatically in the years to come.
Consumer Credit and the American Economy examines the economics, behavioral science, sociology, history, institutions, law, and regulation of consumer credit in the United States. After discussing the origins and various kinds of consumer credit available in today's marketplace, this book reviews at some length the long run growth of consumer credit to explore the widely held belief that somehow consumer credit has risen "too fast for too long." It then turns to demand and supply with chapters discussing neoclassical theories of demand, new behavioral economics, and evidence on production costs and why consumer credit might seem expensive compared to some other kinds of credit like government finance. This discussion includes review of the economics of risk management and funding sources, as well discussion of the economic theory of why some people might be limited in their credit search, the phenomenon of credit rationing. This examination includes review of issues of risk management through mathematical methods of borrower screening known as credit scoring and financial market sources of funding for offerings of consumer credit. The book then discusses technological change in credit granting. It examines how modern automated information systems called credit reporting agencies, or more popularly "credit bureaus," reduce the costs of information acquisition and permit greater credit availability at less cost. This discussion is followed by examination of the logical offspring of technology, the ubiquitous credit card that permits consumers access to both payments and credit services worldwide virtually instantly. After a chapter on institutions that have arisen to supply credit to individuals for whom mainstream credit is often unavailable, including "payday loans" and other small dollar sources of loans, discussion turns to legal structure and the regulation of consumer credit. There are separate chapters on the theories behind the two main thrusts of federal regulation to this point, fairness for all and financial disclosure. Following these chapters, there is another on state regulation that has long focused on marketplace access and pricing. Before a final concluding chapter, another chapter focuses on two noncredit marketplace products that are closely related to credit. The first of them, debt protection including credit insurance and other forms of credit protection, is economically a complement. The second product, consumer leasing, is a substitute for credit use in many situations, especially involving acquisition of automobiles. This chapter is followed by a full review of consumer bankruptcy, what happens in the worst of cases when consumers find themselves unable to repay their loans. Because of the importance of consumer credit in consumers' financial affairs, the intended audience includes anyone interested in these issues, not only specialists who spend much of their time focused on them. For this reason, the authors have carefully avoided academic jargon and the mathematics that is the modern language of economics. It also examines the psychological, sociological, historical, and especially legal traditions that go into fully understanding what has led to the demand for consumer credit and to what the markets and institutions that provide these products have become today.
Wide coverage of different perspectives of banking, the book presents classical microeconomic thoeries of banking, but also covers central banking, financial frictions and banking-macro linkages, banking regulation in theory and practice etc., giving students a rounded picture of the world of banking, and also allowing instructors to design and create their own courses with different emphases A self-contained textbook making “linear” progress through chapters. Banking is all about imperfect market, market failure and frictions, therefore, market friction is the key to making progress throughout the book. Necessary elements from contract theory, game theory, dynamic macroeconomics and mathematical techniques will be provided through boxes and appendices, making the textbook self-contained An up-to-date textbook that presents both state-of-the-art research and the evolving reality, an evidence-based textbook that connects theory and practice.
Cross-national analysis of empirical, theoretical, and policy issues in the consumer credit industry, including household debt, credit card usage, and bankruptcy.
The explosive growth of consumer credit, as well as the shift from cash to "plastic" in societies throughout the world signals a transformation in social relations, which is the focus of this book. For student readers who know the world of credit cards all too well, this is a great way to interest and educate them on the power of thinking sociologically.
This is the first book to describe the history of the innovation of the bank card, from development to commercialization. It describes the strategies employed by innovators in order to achieve competitive advantage, and the use of technology to manage implementation. Interviews and questionnaire surveys are conducted with all the major players in the bank card industry - Barclays, Citibank, American Express, Diners Club, Visa International, Mondex International and Europay. The result is a clear and penetrating insight into all aspects of the bank card market. Innovations in bank cards - ATM/cash cards, credit cards, EFTPOS/debit cards and smart cards - are analyzed; as are the collaborative strategies employed by the banks to realize the benefits of bank card technology. Strategies of Competition has been written for bankers and those who work in the financial service industry, students undertaking courses in technology/strategic management, and MBA students. It provides a detailed and up-to-date analysis of the logic that banks and bankers adopt in setting bank card strategies under a complex socio-economic environment and competitive conditions. The book is essential reading for all who need to understand the strategic integration and management of banking products and innovations as they relate to the bank card business. Specific topics addressed include: the use of technology in providing banking products/services; strategies in securing the benefits of innovations; and banking sector capability in the innovation and launch of smart cards.
