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Journal Article
Checking accounts: what do banks offer and what do consumers value?
Recent evidence shows that the supply of deposits to checking accounts is not elastic with respect to the interest rates paid. That suggests that various features attached to checking accounts may be important in determining the supply of deposits and banks' and revenues from the fees. This study uses a national survey of checking accounts offered by financial institutions in 25 major metropolitan areas in the United States to analyze the effects of restrictions and fees imposed on checking account holders on the supply of deposits and on the banks' check fee revenues. The author places ...
Discussion Paper
The Boston Fed study of consumer behavior and payment choice: a survey of Federal Reserve System employees
The way people pay for goods and services is changing dramatically, but little data and research on consumer behavior and payment choice are publicly available. This paper describes the results of a survey of payment behavior and attitudes taken by Federal Reserve employees in 2004. Major contributions of the survey are that it asks: 1) why payment choices are made; 2) why individual payment behavior has changed; and 3) why individual-specific payment characteristics matter for payment choice. Although the survey is not statistically representative of U.S. consumers, and thus may not provide ...
Speech
Enhancing payment system speed, efficiency and security
Keynote remarks at the TCH Annual Payments Symposium and Business Meeting, New York City.
Report
A general equilibrium analysis of check float
Households and businesses in the U.S. prefer to use check payment over less costly, electronic means of payment. Earlier studies have focused on check ?float,? i.e., the time lag between receipt and clearing, as a potential explanation for the continued popularity of checks. An underlying assumption of these studies is that check float operates as a pure transfer from payee to payor. ; We construct a simple general equilibrium model in which payments are made by check. In general equilibrium, check float need not act as a transfer. If float can be priced into market transactions, then it has ...
Journal Article
Check clearing in the 21st Century: where are my checks?
Financial institutions are understandably concerned with the technological and procedural implications of Check 21, but smoothing the transition with customers ultimately may prove to be the key challenge. Millions of people still use paper checks and won?t be happy to find facsimiles returned in their monthly statements.
Working Paper
The importance of check-cashing businesses to the unbanked: racial/ethnic differences
The roughly 9.5 percent of all U.S. families that are without some type of transaction account (unbanked) are disproportionately represented by minorities. The unbanked often must rely on alternative ways to carry out basic financial transactions such as cashing payroll checks and paying bills. This study analyzes unique survey data and finds that a consumer's decision to patronize check-cashing businesses is jointly made with the decision to be unbanked. For the unbanked, these businesses are an important source for financial services. Attributes that contribute to these decisions, however, ...
Briefing
Payments fraud : consumer considerations
This article examines the potential for fraud associated with various "traditional" payment methods and the protective measures that consumers should take when using them.
Journal Article
Check-cashing outlets in the U.S. financial system