Costs of retail payments in Finland : What paying costs?

Abstract

Despite the central role of payments in all economic activities, surprisingly little is known about the costs associated with payment transactions. This is the first study conducted in Finland to comprehensively investigate both the private and the social costs of retail payments (i.e. costs incurred by various parties involved in the processing of payments and society as a whole). The study focuses on the costs of the most commonly used payment methods in Finland, i.e. payment cards, credit transfers and cash. The results are mainly based on data collected from commercial banks and merchants with 2018 as the reference year. The questionnaires and calculation methods used follow methodologies jointly agreed in the Eurosystem.