While payment card usage has increased dramatically, the stock of outstanding currency has not declined as rapidly. Amromin and Chakravorti analyze changes in cash demand for 13 advanced economies from 1988 to 2003 by separating cash into three denomination categories to disentangle its store of wealth and payment functions. Defining...
In this book chapter, Chakravorti considers linkages between consumer payments and credit. Payors, those that make payments, and payees, those that receive payments, choose among various payment instruments based on their preferences toward convenience, risk, and cost. According to a recent U.S. survey, the usage of payment cards is increasing...
Chakravorti and Kobor provide a framework to study the creation and adoption of innovations by payment providers and processors. The authors identify several motivating factors for banks and nonbanks to invest in payment innovations. In addition, they discuss the evolutionary process of payment innovations from inception to commoditization and recognize...
Businesses, both small and large, are adopting new technologies to automate and reduce the exchange of paper documents in their transaction flows. However, more than 80% of payments between businesses are still made with paper checks. As the exchange of information along the supply chain becomes increasingly electronic, it raises...
The proportion of retail, non-cash payments made electronically in the U.S. grew from 15% in 1979 to 40% in 2000. A recent Chicago Fed conference addressed the important question of whether today's payment networks can adequately support emerging payment technologies.
Chakravorti studies systemic risk in multilateral net settlement systems is investigated using a four-period model. The model focuses on the tradeoff between systemic risk and the cost of interbank transfers along with the importance of the overnight money markets that were a key factor in the most recent financial crisis...
The Mexican securities clearance and settlement system is ahead of many markets in terms of having one of the shortest settlement periods. However, cross-border transactions—such as those involving American Depositary Receipts—have tended to be associated with a greater number of settlement fails than purely domestic transactions because the U.S. and...
Chakravorti investigates payments system reforms begun by the Bank of Mexico in 1994. The goals of these reforms are to reduce the amount of uncollateralized intraday credit extended by the Bank of Mexico (previously unlimited), to promote a market-based allocation of intraday credit for interbank payments, and to move large-value...
In this article, Chakravorti argues that consumers’ use of newer, less expensive payment alternatives depends on the incentives merchants and payment instrument providers offer, along with consumers’ comfort level and faith in the instruments. Once consumers are comfortable with the newer electronic alternatives, cost of usage, convenience, and frequent-use incentives...