Cash or Debit Cards? Payment Acceptance Costs for Merchants

Fumiko Hayashi examines which of two payment methods—cash or debit cards—is more costly for merchants to accept in person six countries: the United States, Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. She finds that cards have been than cash States recent years, while has become other five countries. Two factors explain this difference. First, although interchange fees are just one component merchants’ card acceptance costs, alone higher total cost accepting States. Second, number transactions declined at a much slower pace countries, keeping from rising.