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on Payment Systems and Financial Technology |
| By: | Arturo Andia; Jose Aurazo; Marcelo Paliza |
| Abstract: | Digital wallets like Yape and Plin have gained widespread popularity in Peru, allowing users to make instant payments through quick response (QR) codes or mobile phone numbers. This paper examines the drivers of their adoption and their impact on everyday life. Using market share data for six digital payment instruments and cash from January 2019 to April 2024, we estimate the demand for payment instruments and find that features such as lower fees, 24/7 immediate payments, QR code payments, and interoperability with point-of-sale (POS) terminals are key to their success. Our estimates suggest that a PEN 0.01 (USD 0.003) increase in payer fees would reduce the market share of the digital wallets by 0.31 percentage points (pp), while debit cards and cash would gain usage. Simulations further indicate that removing 24/7 immediate transfers would reduce digital wallet usage by 15.75 pp, discontinuing POS payments by 26.01 pp, and eliminating QR code functionality by 4.45 pp. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the adoption of digital wallets has contributed to a sustained increase in consumer welfare per transaction among banked individuals over time. |
| Keywords: | consumer welfare, demand estimation, digital payments, digital wallets, innovation, Peru |
| JEL: | G23 G28 L51 L96 O16 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bis:biswps:1329 |
| By: | Ozili, Peterson K |
| Abstract: | Sustainable digital finance is a topic of growing interest among sustainability advocates who are seeking ways to influence digital financial services providers to offer sustainability-oriented digital financial services. This study defines sustainable digital finance, identifies some characteristics of the emerging sustainable digital finance sector and forecasts what sustainable digital finance should be in the future. The study shows the emergence of digitalisation policies, digital finance policies, sustainability and climate change policies, a low interest in sustainable digital finance, a general reluctance towards sustainable digital finance, the rise of green washing by digital finance providers, and the growing interest in sustainable digital finance information among members of the public. The study also shows what sustainable digital finance should be in the future. It forecasts a future where there are environmental, social and governance (ESG)-compliant digital finance laws and regulations, a well-developed sustainable digital finance sandbox to develop sustainability-oriented digital financial services, the emergence of international standards for sustainable digital finance, an ecosystem where digital finance tools are used to promote environmental sustainability, and a self-regulatory environment where the industry takes the lead in developing sustainable digital finance initiatives. |
| Keywords: | sustainable digital finance, digital finance, sustainability, sustainable development, Fintech, ESG, digital technology |
| JEL: | O1 O3 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127372 |
| By: | Lorie Logan |
| Abstract: | Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan delivered these remarks at the SMU Science and Technology Law Review 2026 annual symposium, "Payments of the Future: Law, Innovation, and Access in a Digital Economy." |
| Keywords: | payments |
| Date: | 2026–01–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddsp:102558 |
| By: | Okalanwa, Solomon; Okalanwa, Stella; Taudes, Alfred |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus051:81476891 |
| By: | Hedieh Tajali (School of Economics, University of Edinburgh); Piruz Saboury (University of Houston) |
| Abstract: | The increasing use of dynamic fundraising schemes such as crowdfunding has given rise to a relatively small but growing body of literature focusing on understanding the effectiveness of such techniques. In this paper, we first present a simple model of dynamic fundraising as a sequential-move threshold public goods game. We demonstrate that donors have an incentive to free-ride on expected future contributions, which leads to the following testable hypotheses for our empirical analysis: Donations are, all else equal, decreasing in accumulated past donations and increasing in time from the beginning of fundraising. In the next step, we analyse a rich dataset from a prominent crowdfunding platform. We find evidence that supports our hypotheses and shows the presence of a small but statistically significant forward-looking crowd-out among donors. On average, a one-percentage-point increase in past cumulative donations leads to a reduction of 0.05 percentage points in the amount contributed, while a one-percentage-point increase in time passed results in an increase of 0.03 percentage points in the amount contributed. In short, we observe that an increased prospect of future provision crowds out earlier contributions. |
| Keywords: | public goods, philanthropy, fundraising, crowdfunding, free-riding, crowding-out. |
| JEL: | H00 H41 D64 I22 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:edn:esedps:322 |
| By: | Braithwaite, Jo |
| Abstract: | The law’s allocation of responsibility for disputed bank payments is important not only for banks and customers, but also, given the volume and value of payments, for the economy more broadly. This article examines loss allocation under common law, EU–UK regulation and the UK’s ‘world-first’ scheme for ‘authorised push payment’ frauds, showing that the gross negligence standard of customer conduct is a common feature. Indeed, this ‘slippery concept’ sits at critical junctures, providing, in practice, the most relevant limitation to a bank’s liability to refund payments. The article analyses what this standard means in English common law and in its regulatory contexts, and highlights the important connection between the two. It then draws upon decisions by the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service, amongst other sources, to explore how evaluating bank customer conduct works in practice, concluding that it is time for regulators to rethink the status quo. |
| Keywords: | banks; payment; gross negligence; payment services; fraud; Financial Ombudsman Service |
| JEL: | K23 G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2026–02–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:130757 |
| By: | Baloch, Muhammad Ammar; Ali, Amjad; Audi, Marc |
| Abstract: | This study examines the connection between behavioral and digital financial literacy and investing choices, using social impact and financial position to explain these choices, within the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The results from a survey of 400 diverse professionals were analyzed with PLS-SEM. Both types of financial literacy appear to have a good effect on how people invest. The impact of behavioral literacy on investing is affected by financial circumstances and is partly reduced by peer impact. Improving behavioral knowledge allows you to manage your finances and plan for the future and being digitally literate encourages you to use online platforms to help with decision-making. How much impact your friends have can show subjective norms, while your economic situation reveals your perceived control over behavior, both of which support the theory. It improves our understanding of financial literacy by splitting the topic into behavioral and digital features. It supports the need for special strategies to raise digital and behavioral skills in individuals from disadvantaged groups. The next phase of research ought to look at lengthy studies and include more social-psychological variables. |
| Keywords: | Behavioral Financial Literacy, Digital Financial Literacy, Investment Decisions, Peer Influence, Financial Position |
| JEL: | G2 O3 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127313 |
| By: | Joseph Abadi; Jesús Fernández-Villaverde; Daniel Sanches |
| Abstract: | We present a micro-founded monetary model of the world economy to study international currency competition. Our model features "unipolar'' equilibria, with a single dominant international currency, and "multipolar'' equilibria, in which multiple currencies circulate internationally. Long-run equilibria are highly history-dependent and tend towards the emergence of a dominant currency. Governments can compete to internationalize their currencies by offering attractive interest rates on their sovereign debt, but large economies have a natural advantage in ensuring the dominance of their currencies. We calibrate the model to assess the quantitative importance of these mechanisms and study the international monetary system's dynamics under several counterfactual scenarios. |
| JEL: | E42 E58 G21 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34817 |
| By: | Vergara-Perucich, Francisco; Aguirre-Nuñez, Carlos |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how housing tokenization is discursively framed in Chile's digital public sphere, assessing whether it promotes affordability or reinforces financialization. Using a methodology that combines natural language processing, topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and semantic network analysis, the study analyzes content from 34 websites - including fintech startups, media outlets, and real estate firms - scraped and processed in R. Results show that tokenization is largely portrayed through a techno-optimistic lens focused on investment, trust, and digital innovation. Sentiment analysis highlights dominant emotional tones of "trust" and "anticipation, " while topic modeling identifies four themes: return performance, platform ecosystems, asset commodification, and user empowerment. These narratives, however, tend to obscure critical perspectives on equity and governance. Despite limitations related to data bias and cultural nuance, the study offers a replicable method for analyzing technological discourses and raises important questions about the policy implications of financial innovation in emerging markets. |
| Keywords: | financial innovation, blockchain, real estate, token, financialization |
| JEL: | G23 R31 O33 O16 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iedlwp:336691 |
| By: | Candeias, Teresa De Jesus |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the legal challenges and potentialities arising from the implementation of smart contracts and blockchain technology in the oil industry. The research analyzes how these instruments may contribute to enhancing transparency, efficiency, and promptness in access to commercial data, as well as to simplifying regulatory compliance processes. Nevertheless, the study also examines the inherent limitations and risks of their adoption, including difficulties in contractual interpretation, the rigidity of pre-programmed rules, incompatibility with open-ended clauses, and the challenge of adapting to unforeseen circumstances. |
| Keywords: | Smartcontracts; Blockchain; Oil Industry; Petroleum Contracts; Upstream |
| JEL: | K12 K22 K23 K3 L71 |
| Date: | 2026–01–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127802 |
| By: | Selinger, Daniel P; Crofton, Isaak |
| Abstract: | This essay argues that Ludwig von Mises’ regression theorem, when interpreted with full attention to its original logical structure and later Austrian developments, can be elevated from a narrow solution to the monetary circularity problem into a comprehensive methodological framework for analysing the non-monetary utility of cryptographic money. The authors reconstruct the classical Mises–Rothbard formulation and apply it to early Bitcoin history and to Monero’s genesis—especially the first non-coinbase transaction at block 110—to show that these systems exhibited technological, epistemic, and ideological utilities at “zero-day, ” prior to any established exchange value. The article also critiques recent misapplications of the regression theorem that dilute its rigor by treating virtually any collectible or idiosyncratically valued object as sufficient to satisfy its requirements, thereby trivializing the theorem. In contrast, the authors propose a disciplined regression-based research programme capable of distinguishing genuine cryptographic innovations from speculative tokens, tracing how early non-monetary utilities bootstrap intersubjective demand, marketability, and eventual monetary roles. The essay concludes that a rigorously applied regression framework provides a powerful tool for evaluating digital assets, advancing cryptographic research, and understanding the emergence of new monetary and institutional forms. |
| Keywords: | Mises’ regression theorem; non-monetary utility; cryptocurrencies; Bitcoin; Monero; zero-day analysis; Austrian economics; commodity theory of money; cryptographic primitives; privacy technologies; methodological framework; monetary emergence; blockchain history; digital assets evaluation |
| JEL: | B41 E31 Z1 Z11 Z19 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127140 |
| By: | Claire Greene; Oz Shy; Joanna Stavins |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the degree to which merchants influence consumers' choice of how they pay for transactions. Using data from the Survey and Diary of Consumer Payments Choice, we examine consumers' adherence to their preferred payment method when making in-person transactions. We also investigate whether merchants are able to steer consumers away from their preferred payment method. We characterize preferences for paying with cash or cards according to consumers' income, level of education, and employment status. We find that consumers make most payments with their preferred method. When consumers pay with a nonpreferred method, it is due only in small part to merchants' refusal to accept that payment method. If a merchant accepts card payments, consumers who prefer paying with cards are not likely to pay with cash for large-value transactions or for gas or groceries. Discounts on cash purchases do not affect the probability of consumers deviating from using cards and paying with cash. Finally, the paper identifies “inertia” effects, which lead consumers to use the same payment method for consecutive purchases. |
| Keywords: | consumer payments; consumer payment preferences; merchant steering; discounts; surcharges |
| JEL: | E42 |
| Date: | 2026–02–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedawp:102535 |
| By: | Ozili, Peterson K; Obiora, Kingsley; Onuzo, Chinwe |
| Abstract: | Artificial intelligence is disrupting the financial sector globally. Artificial intelligence will also affect financial regulation and financial system stability in several ways. Little is known about how artificial intelligence might affect the stability of the financial system. Using a contextual framework and discourse analysis methodology, this article identifies some risks that artificial intelligence could pose to financial system stability in Nigeria. The study focused on how AI risks affect those directly involved in financial stability work in Nigeria. If these risks are mitigated, the adoption of AI for financial stability work will yield positive benefits for financial stability in Nigeria. |
| Keywords: | Nigeria, artificial intelligence, financial stability, algorithm, banking supervision, financial regulation, financial sector. |
| JEL: | G21 G23 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127370 |
| By: | Umair, Syed Muhammad; Ali, Amjad; Audi, Marc |
| Abstract: | This study explores the influence of financial technology adoption on financial stability across 35 emerging market economies over the period 2015–2024. A fintech adoption index is constructed using data from the GSMA mobile money metrics, World Bank database, and Bank for International Settlements Fintech Statistics, including indicators such as mobile payment transactions, transaction volumes, and the number of fintech startups. Principal component analysis is employed to reduce dimensionality and enhance the validity and comparability of the index across countries and time. To assess the relationship between fintech adoption and financial stability, this study applies the cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag model, which is particularly suitable for panel datasets with mixed integration orders and cross-sectional dependence features commonly observed in macroeconomic analyses of emerging economies. Regulatory quality, measured using the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, is examined as a moderating factor. The results reveal that higher levels of fintech adoption improve financial stability, especially in environments with stronger regulatory frameworks. Robustness is confirmed through several diagnostic checks, including the CIPS unit root test, alternative model specifications, and interaction term analysis. |
| Keywords: | Fintech Adoption, Financial Stability, Emerging Markets, Regulatory Quality |
| JEL: | G2 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127487 |
| By: | Aijie Shu; Wenbin Wu; Gbenga Ibikunle; Fengxiang He |
| Abstract: | Credit exposure in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is often implicit and token-mediated, creating a dense web of inter-protocol dependencies. Thus, a shock to one token may result in significant and uncontrolled contagion effects. As the DeFi ecosystem becomes increasingly linked with traditional financial infrastructure through instruments, such as stablecoins, the risk posed by this dynamic demands more powerful quantification tools. We introduce DeXposure-FM, the first time-series, graph foundation model for measuring and forecasting inter-protocol credit exposure on DeFi networks, to the best of our knowledge. Employing a graph-tabular encoder, with pre-trained weight initialization, and multiple task-specific heads, DeXposure-FM is trained on the DeXposure dataset that has 43.7 million data entries, across 4, 300+ protocols on 602 blockchains, covering 24, 300+ unique tokens. The training is operationalized for credit-exposure forecasting, predicting the joint dynamics of (1) protocol-level flows, and (2) the topology and weights of credit-exposure links. The DeXposure-FM is empirically validated on two machine learning benchmarks; it consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches, including a graph foundation model and temporal graph neural networks. DeXposure-FM further produces financial economics tools that support macroprudential monitoring and scenario-based DeFi stress testing, by enabling protocol-level systemic-importance scores, sector-level spillover and concentration measures via a forecast-then-measure pipeline. Empirical verification fully supports our financial economics tools. The model and code have been publicly available. Model: https://huggingface.co/EVIEHub/DeXposure-FM. Code: https://github.com/EVIEHub/DeXposure-FM. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.03981 |
| By: | Nicoletta Berardi; Benjamin Bureau |
| Abstract: | French female-led businesses make less use of bank credit than companies run by men, a difference attributable to a lower demand for credit among female executives. However, the probability of a loan application being rejected by a bank does not vary according to the business leader’s gender. <p> Les entreprises françaises dirigées par des femmes ont moins recours au crédit bancaire que celles dirigées par des hommes. Cette différence s’explique par une demande de crédit plus faible chez les femmes dirigeantes. En revanche, la probabilité qu’une demande de crédit soit rejetée par la banque ne varie pas avec le genre du dirigeant. |
| Date: | 2026–02–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfr:econot:431 |
| By: | Jabrane Amaghouss (Cadi Ayyad University); Hanane Elmasmari (Cadi Ayyad University) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the effects of financial inclusion on youth unemployment and mortality rates, using panel data from 17 countries in the MENA region over the period 2004-2022. Controlling for variables such as the ICT development index, economic growth, and inflation rates, the results reveal a causal relationship between financial inclusion and both youth unemployment and mortality rates. Moreover, the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) model results support the hypothesis that an inclusive financial system contributes to reducing both youth unemployment and mortality rates in the long term. Additionally, the GMM estimates further corroborate the role of financial inclusion in achieving SDGs 3 and 8. In contrast, the control variables show that an increase in the ICT development index raises unemployment but reduces the likelihood of youth mortality. Meanwhile, economic growth and inflation rate have a relatively weak impact on both youth unemployment and mortality risk in the MENA region. |
| Date: | 2025–12–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1813 |
| By: | M. Merritt Smith; Emily Aiken; Joshua E. Blumenstock; Sveta Milusheva |
| Abstract: | We provide systematic evidence on the potential for estimating household well-being from mobile phone data. Using data from four countries - Afghanistan, Cote d'Ivoire, Malawi, and Togo - we conduct parallel, standardized machine learning experiments to assess which measures of welfare can be most accurately predicted, which types of phone data are most useful, and how much training data is required. We find that long-term poverty measures such as wealth indices (Pearson's rho = 0.20-0.59) and multidimensional poverty (rho = 0.29-0.57) can be predicted more accurately than consumption (rho = 0.04 - 0.54); transient vulnerability measures like food security and mental health are very difficult to predict. Models using calls and text message behavior are more predictive than those using metadata on mobile internet usage, mobile money transactions, and airtime top-ups. Predictive accuracy improves rapidly through the first 1, 000-2, 000 training observations, with continued gains beyond 4, 500 observations. Model performance depends strongly on sample heterogeneity: nationally-representative samples yield 20-70 percent higher accuracy than urban-only or rural-only samples. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.02805 |
| By: | Murad Farzulla; Andrew Maksakov |
| Abstract: | Cryptocurrency markets have grown to represent over $3 trillion in capitalization, yet no unified index exists to monitor the systemic risks arising from the interconnection between decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and traditional financial institutions. This paper introduces the Aggregated Systemic Risk Index (ASRI), a composite measure comprising four weighted sub-indices: Stablecoin Concentration Risk (30%), DeFi Liquidity Risk (25%), Contagion Risk (25%), and Regulatory Opacity Risk (20%). We derive theoretical foundations for each component, specify quantitative formulas incorporating data from DeFi Llama, Federal Reserve FRED, and on-chain analytics, and validate the framework against historical crisis events including the Terra/Luna collapse (May 2022), the Celsius/3AC contagion (June 2022), the FTX bankruptcy (November 2022), and the SVB banking crisis (March 2023). Event study analysis detects statistically significant abnormal signals for all four crises (t-statistics 5.47-32.64, all p |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.03874 |