Authors Evans and Schmalensee have written the definitive book on the business of bank cards. The reader will come away an expert, with a clear understanding of the business drivers, the players, and the complex issues behind the business of bank cards. This should be required reading for anyone engaged in the bank card industry, from executives at the associations to systems integrators and vendors that service this market.
John C. Gould, Director of Consumer Lending and Bank Cards Practice, TowerGroup
An excellent treatment of the payment card industry's evolving structure and conduct.
Daniel Pope
Enterprise & Society
Paying with Plastic examines a quiet revolution in the U.S. economy the steady transition from checks and cash to credit, debit, and charge cards. The authors describe the causes and consequences of this transition in terms of economics and law all in plain English that the nonspecialist can understand. This book has become an immensely valuable source on an important subject.
Robert Pitofsky, Joseph and Madeline Sheehy Professor in Antitrust and Trade Regulation Law, and Dean Emeritus, Georgetown Law School, and former Chairman, Federal Trade Commission
Paying with Plastic is a practical discussion about a complex industry that drives almost $3 trillion in worldwide purchases every year. Evans and Schmalensee illuminate the inner workings of an industry that many know by virtue of the cards we carry in our wallets, but few really understand. It is required reading for anyone who works in, works with, or studies payment cards.
Timothy Muris, Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University, and former Chairman, Federal Trade Commission
Well-written and clearly presented.
Tudor Marshall
The Business Economist
Evans and Schmalensee's Paying with Plastic provides a rigorous analysis and deep insights about the payment card industry's fascinating institutional features. This book will appeal not only to policy-makers and business executives, but also to the theoretically inclined economist. The second edition incorporates much new material, including recent advances to two-sided market economics (to which the authors have made substantial contributions). A remarkable achievement.
Jean Tirole, Institut d'Economie Industrielle, University of Toulouse
