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August 2000
6 x 9, 387 pp., 25 illus.
$21.95/£16.95 (PAPER)
Short

ISBN-10:
0-262-55037-7
ISBN-13:
978-0-262-55037-6

Out of Stock
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Table of Contents
 < BACK
Paying with Plastic
The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing
David Evans and Richard Schmalensee

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments


1   Plastic Cards
The Star
Star Performance
The Main Characters
Other Members of the Cast
Supporting Roles
The Foreign Cast
The Thirteen Acts


2   From Sea Shells to Electrons
What Is Money?
Money in America
Cash, Check, or Charge?
Debit or Credit?
The Role of Payment in the U.S. Economy


3   A Land of Local Banks, Awash in Paper Checks
Banking in America
Banks, Nonbanks, and Payment Cards


4   The Rise of Payment Cards
Diners Club and the Birth of the Payment Card
The Infancy of the Card Associations
Early Policy Issues: Duality and Usury
The 1980s Spending and Debt Spree
The 1990s and the New Millenium
Risk, Innovation, and Investment


5   From Gourmets to the Masses
The Growth and Diffusion of Credit Cards in the American Economy
Payment Cards and the Transactions Demand for Money
Credit Cards and Entrepreneurship
But Are Payment Cards Really a Good Deal?


6   Everywhere You Want to Be, Not Everywhere They Want to Be
Who Are the Players?
Honor All Cards
The Economics of Merchant Acceptance
More and More Merchants Take Payment Cards


7   Chickens, Eggs, and Other Economic Conundrums
Product Differentiation
Economics of Network Industries
Some Economics of Joint Ventures
Interdependent Pricing


8   System Wars
Who Are the Warriors?
The Weapons of War
The Rise and Decline of American Express Cards
The Bankcard Battles


9   Issuer Brawls
Who Are the Players?
Product Differentiation and Market Segmentation
Competitive Strategies
Market Structure
Market Performance
Consolidation in Banking and Cards


10   Puzzles and Paradoxes
High and Sticky Interest Rates
The Myth of Exorbitant Profits
AT&T, GM, and Credit Card Prices


11   The Antitrust Wars
Sleeping with the Enemy: Worthen
Good Fix: NaBanco
Someone's Knocking at My Door: MountainWest
Leveling the Battlefield


12   Debit Takes Off (Finally)
Awkward Growth, Complexity, and Confusion
The Rise of ATMs
The Growth of PIN Pad Merchants
The Associations Finally Get It Right
Which Came First?
The Future of Debit Cards


13   And They Don't Take Cash


Sources and Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

 
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