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Explore our research into the data, trends and innovations of payments and payment systems, including cash, checks, credit and debit cards.

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Alexander L. Wolman

Bruno Sultanum

Colton Lapp

David A. Price

Huberto M. Ennis

James McAndrews

Jeffrey M. Lacker

Jessie Romero

John A. Weinberg

John Mullin

Jonathan Chiu

Julian Wright

Karl Rhodes

Kiran Krishnamurthy

Margaretta Blackwell

Matthew Wells

Pengfei Han

Renee Haltom

Russell Wong

Steven McCarther

T. Stuart Desch

Thomas A. Lubik

Tim Mead

Tim Sablik

Zhu Wang

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Podcast

Cassette tape with label that says "Greatest Hits"

Greatest Hits of 2023

Speaking of the Economy

Dec. 6, 2023

Tim Sablik, host of the Speaking of the Economy podcast, reviews the five most popular episodes of 2023 that explored topics beyond inflation and monetary policy.

Article

Bringing Payments into the Fast Lane

Econ Focus

Third Quarter 2023

In July, the Fed launched its first new payment service in more than 40 years. FedNow enables money to move instantaneously from sender to recipient 24 hours a day, seven days a week — weekends and holidays included.

Tim Sablik

Conference

Economist engaging a speaker at CORE Week

CORE Week, featuring the Climate Economics Conference

July 31, 2023 - Aug. 4, 2023

Article

Side-by-side image of President Andrew Jackson and Nicholas Biddle, President of the Second Bank of the United States.

The Bank War

Econ Focus

Second Quarter 2023

In his July 1832 veto message of the bill rechartering the Second Bank of the United States, President Andrew Jackson triggered the demise of America's second central bank with a stroke of his veto pen.

Matthew Wells

Podcast

Payments in real time, represented by money floating in cyberspace

The Fed Enters the World of Real-Time Payments

Speaking of the Economy

May 24, 2023

Vanity McDaniel provides an update on FedNow, the first new payments platform launched by the Federal Reserve in 50 years, and why the Fed decided to facilitate real-time or "instant" payments in the financial system. McDaniel is a senior payments business advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Podcast

Bitcoin symbol lurking around Wall Street

How Stable Are Stablecoins?

Speaking of the Economy

Oct. 12, 2022

Russell Wong discusses the emergence of stablecoin as an alternative to more volatile cryptocurrencies in the financial system. Wong is a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Publication

The Discount Window: A Useful Liquidity Tool

Supervision News Flash

September 2022

By providing ready access to funding, the Federal Reserve’s discount window helps depository institutions manage their liquidity risks efficiently and avoid actions that have negative consequences for their customers.

Steven McCarther

Article

Yiming Ma presents her paper to attendees of the Intermediation and Bank Liquidity Conference, part of August's CORE Week collaboration

Intermediation and Bank Liquidity: A Conference Recap

Economic Brief

August 2022, No. 22-34

How might a CBDC alter the banking system? How does credit easing affect bank runs? These and other questions were addressed during a recent Richmond Fed conference.

John Mullin and Matthew Wells

Article

Central Bank Digital Currencies and Regulatory Alternatives: the Case for Stablecoins

Economic Brief

July 2022, No. 22-26

Properly regulating stablecoins could achieve the same objectives as issuing a central bank digital currency.

Bruno Sultanum

Article

Why Stablecoins Fail: An Economist’s Post-Mortem on Terra

Economic Brief

July 2022, No. 22-24

When confidence in Terra's currencies was shaken, it created a freefall that couldn't be stopped.

Russell Wong

Article

Photo of a multicolor financial graph on a screen.

A Historical Perspective on Digital Currencies

Economic Brief

June 2022, No. 22-21

Perhaps history can be a guide on whether central banks should issue digital currencies.

Huberto M. Ennis, Zhu Wang and Russell Wong

Article

Are There Compelling Reasons to Consider a Central Bank Digital Currency for the U.S.?

Economic Brief

June 2022, No. 22-20

Even exploring a CBDC without ultimately issuing one can provide significant benefits.

Zhu Wang

Article

Fed Eyes Central Bank Digital Currency

Econ Focus

Second Quarter 2022

Policymakers are weighing the possible benefits and risks of adopting a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC).

John Mullin

Podcast

The Fed's Role in Payments Innovation

Speaking of the Economy

April 20, 2022

Vanity McDaniel and Zhu Wang review the Federal Reserve's important role in the payments system, from cash and check processing to supporting innovations in electronic payments. McDaniel is a senior payments business analyst in the Payments Outreach group and Wang is vice president for research in financial and payments systems in the Research Department at the Richmond Fed.

Article

What Is SWIFT, and Could Sanctions Impact the U.S. Dollar's Dominance?

Economic Brief

March 2022, No. 22-09

The recent removal of several Russian banks from SWIFT has sparked questions about unintended consequences.

Russell Wong

Article

Abstract image implying technology in action

When Will Firms Issue Digital Currencies?

Econ Focus

Fourth Quarter 2021

In the last year, more than 10 percent of Americans have reportedly traded or bought cryptocurrencies, in part fueled by increased institutional adoption and public attention in the media. This increased engagement has captured the attention of both the general public and central bankers alike.

Colton Lapp

Article

Why Is the U.S. Lagging in Adopting Mobile Payments?

Economic Brief

June 2021, No. 21-21

The U.S. is considered a leader in payment services, yet it has fallen behind countries like China and Kenya in mobile payment innovation.

Pengfei Han and Zhu Wang

Article

Should Central Banks Worry About Facebook's Diem and Alibaba's Alipay?

Economic Brief

May 2021, No. 21-17

Facebook and Amazon are examining creating digital currencies, like Alibaba has. What drives platforms to develop these currencies, and should central banks be worried?

Jonathan Chiu, Tim Sablik and Russell Wong

Article

finger touching a bubble of a dollar sign

Should the Fed Issue Digital Currency?

Economic Brief

March 2021, No. 21-10

The U.S. might benefit from replacing physical cash with central bank digital currency, but first the Fed must resolve several policy and implementation issues.

Jessie Romero, Zhu Wang and Russell Wong

Working Paper

Technology Adoption and Leapfrogging: Racing for Mobile Payments (Revised August 2023)

Working Paper Series

March 2021, No. 21-05R

We construct a dynamic model with sequential payment innovations to explain this phenomenon, which uncovers how advanced economies' past success in adopting card-payment technology holds them back in the mobile-payment race.

Pengfei Han and Zhu Wang

Working Paper

Payments on Digital Platforms: Resiliency, Interoperability and Welfare

Working Paper Series

February 2021, No. 21-04

This paper studies a platform's business model choice between accepting cash and issuing tokens, as well as the implications for welfare, resiliency, and interoperability.

Jonathan Chiu and Russell Wong

Article

ACH, Wire and Check, Oh My!

Supervision News Flash

August 2020

The Federal Reserve’s FraudClassifierSM Model, developed by the Fraud Definitions Work Group, aims to develop consistency in the terminology used by the payments industry to describe payments fraud.

Article

Is Cash Still King?

Econ Focus

Second Quarter 2018

Despite new technologies for electronic payments, cash has never been more popular. What's driving the demand?

Tim Sablik

Article

What Two Billion Retail Transactions Reveal about Consumers’ Choice of Payments

Economic Brief

April 2017, No. 17-04

Research at the Richmond Fed has exploited a large dataset of cash, check, credit card, and debit card transactions at a nationwide retail chain to examine consumer payment choice based on transaction size and location, day-of-week and day-of-month cycles, and longer-term trends.

David A. Price, Zhu Wang and Alexander L. Wolman

Publication

Did the Durbin Amendment Reduce Merchant Costs? Evidence from Survey Results

Economic Brief

December 2015, No. 15-12

New survey results suggest that the regulation has had limited and unequal effects on merchants. This Economic Brief discusses the causes of these findings as well as the implications of the regulation for end users.

Renee Haltom and Zhu Wang

Article

A New Payments Role for the Fed?

Econ Focus

Fourth Quarter 2014

A white paper published by the Fed in January advocates adding a new option to the payment system: a real-time electronic payment mechanism that would enable consumers and businesses to make payments instantly, cheaply, and safely.

John A. Weinberg
(Emeritus)

Speech

Rethinking the Unthinkable: Bankruptcy for Large Financial Institutions

Oct. 10, 2014

Richmond Fed president Jeffrey M. Lacker spoke about the use of the Bankruptcy Code to resolve large complex financial institutions.

Jeffrey M. Lacker
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Article

Cybersecuring Payments

Econ Focus

First Quarter 2014

Are we losing the fight against next-gen bank robbers? The Fed's study found that payment cards were used in 92 percent of fraudulent transactions, with checks and electronic check transfers making up the remainder.

Tim Sablik

Speech

Economic Outlook, July 2014

July 8, 2014

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker addressed business leaders during a luncheon hosted by the Rotary Club of Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C.

Jeffrey M. Lacker
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Working Paper

Payment Choice and Currency Use: Insights from Two Billion Retail Transactions (Revised September 2016)

Working Paper Series

April 2014, No. 14-09R

Using three years of transactions data from a discount retailer with thousands of stores, we study payment variation along three dimensions: transaction size and location; weekly and monthly frequencies; and longer time horizons.

Zhu Wang and Alexander L. Wolman

Publication

Welfare Analysis of Debit Card Interchange Fee Regulation

Economic Brief

October 2013, No. 13-10

Many merchants have complained that the fees far exceed issuers' costs for processing such transactions. In response to those complaints, Congress directed the Federal Reserve to impose a cap on debit card interchange fees.

Tim Sablik and Zhu Wang

Working Paper

Price Cap Regulation in a Two-sided Market: Intended and Unintended Consequences (Revised December 2015)

Working Paper Series

May 2013, No. 13-06R

This paper studies intended and unintended consequences of price cap regulation in the two-sided payment card market.

Zhu Wang

Speech

Ending 'Too Big to Fail' Is Going to Be Hard Work

May 9, 2013

Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, addressed the Council on Foreign Relations on May, 9, 2013, as part of the C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics.

Jeffrey M. Lacker
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Publication

Why Do Debit Card Networks Charge Percentage Fees?

Economic Brief

February 2013, No. 13-02

Why do debit card networks base their fees on a percentage of transaction amounts when the marginal cost of executing a transaction does not vary by amount?

David A. Price and Zhu Wang

Working Paper

Ad-valorem platform fees, indirect taxes and efficient price discrimination (Revised August 2016)

Working Paper Series

November 2012, No. 12-08R

This paper explains why platforms such as Amazon and Visa rely predominantly on ad-valorem fees, fees which increase proportionally with transaction prices. It also provides a new explanation for why ad-valorem sales taxes are more desirable than specific taxes.

Zhu Wang and Julian Wright

Working Paper

The Economics of Two-Sided Payment Card Markets: Pricing, Adoption and Usage

Working Paper Series

October 2012, No. 12-06

This paper provides a new theory for two-sided payment card markets. Adopting payment cards requires consumers and merchants to pay a fixed cost, but yields a lower marginal cost of making payments.

James McAndrews and Zhu Wang

Publication

TARGET2: Symptom, Not Cause, of Eurozone Woes

Economic Brief

August 2012, No. 12-08

In recent years, large positive and negative balances have arisen in TARGET2, the interbank settlement and payments system of the Eurozone. These balances show that the Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of Germany, has become a large net creditor to the European Central Bank (ECB).

Thomas A. Lubik and Karl Rhodes

Publication

The Role of Interchange Fees on Debit and Credit Card Transactions in the Payments System

Economic Brief

May 2011, No. 11-05

Rising interchange fees, along with the growing dominance of card transactions in the payments system, have brought increasing scrutiny from regulators on the appropriate level of interchange fees and the competitive aspects of card networks.

Tim Mead, Renee Haltom and Margaretta Blackwell

Publication

The Growth of Paperless Money: Retail Payments in the United States Continue to Evolve

Economic Brief

June 2009, No. 09-06

The use of electronic payment methods has increased rapidly over the last decade. Recent studies shed greater light on the forms these payments are taking — and why checks still serve a vital function for certain transactions.

T. Stuart Desch and Kiran Krishnamurthy

Speech

The Evolution of Consumer Finance

May 18, 2006

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker spoke May 18, 2006 Conference of State Bank Supervisors in Norfolk, Va.

Jeffrey M. Lacker
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Speech

Central Bank Credit in the Theory of Money and Payments

March 29, 2006

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker spoke March 29, 2006 at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's The Economics of Payments II Conference in New York, N.Y.

Jeffrey M. Lacker
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Speech

Payment Economics and the Role of the Central Banks

May 20, 2005

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker spoke May 20, 2005 at the Bank of England Payments Conference in London, England.

Jeffrey M. Lacker
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Working Paper

Payment System Disruptions and the Federal Reserve Following September 11, 2001

Working Paper Series

December 2003, No. 03-16

The monetary and payment system consequences of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are reviewed and compared to selected U.S. banking crises. Interbank payment disruptions appear to be the central feature of all the crises reviewed.

Jeffrey M. Lacker

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