Paying with plastic : the digital revolution in buying and borrowing / David S. Evans, Richard Schmalensee.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Evans, David S. (David Sparks), 1954-

Contributor:

Schmalensee, Richard.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Credit cards--United States.

Credit cards.

Bank credit cards--United States.

Bank credit cards.

Electronic funds transfers--United States.

Electronic funds transfers.

Electronic commerce--United States.

Electronic commerce.

Consumer credit--United States.

Consumer credit.

Physical Description:

xii, 373 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Since Diners Club issued its first charge cards in 1950, payment cards -- credit, debit, and charge cards -- have revolutionized how and whenwe pay for goods and services. In Paying with Plastic, David Evans and Richard Schmalensee provide a nontechnical distillation of their years of research on the economic, technological, and institutional forces that have shaped the payment card industry. They show how competition works in an industry that does not neatly fit any of the standard economic models. They describe how the payment card companies such as MasterCard and Visa have developed complex systems for coordinating transactions among their thousands of bank members and millions of cardholders and accepting merchants. Evans and Schmalensee also describe recent developments in the industry and consider its likely evolution.

Contents:

Paying with Plastic

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Plastic Cards

From Sea Shells to Electrons

A Land of Local Banks, Awash in Paper Checks

The Rise of Payment Cards

From Gourmets to the Masses

Everywhere You Want to Be, Not Everywhere They Want to Be

Chickens, Eggs, and Other Economic Conundrums

System Wars

Issuer Brawls

Puzzles and Paradoxes

The Antitrust Wars

Debit Takes Off (Finally)

And They Don t Take Cash

Sources and Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Title from title screen.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-359) and index.

Digitized and made available by: Books 24x7.com.

ISBN:

0-262-27244-X

0-585-19965-5

OCLC:

44957626