Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/210764 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
Bank of Canada Staff Working Paper No. 2019-24
Publisher: 
Bank of Canada, Ottawa
Abstract: 
Privacy is a feature inherent to the use of cash for payments. With steadily increasing market shares of commercial digital payments platforms, privacy in payments may no longer be attainable in the future. In this paper, we explore the potential welfare impact of reductions in privacy in payments in a dynamic framework. In our framework, firms may use data collected through payments to price discriminate among future customers. A public good aspect of privacy in payments arises because individual customers do not bear the full cost of failing to protect their privacy. As a consequence, they may suboptimally choose not to preserve their privacy in payments. When left to market forces alone, the use of privacy-preserving means of payments, such as cash, may decline faster than is optimal.
Subjects: 
Digital currencies and fintech
Bank notes
Payment clearing and settlement systems
Central bank research
JEL: 
E42
G28
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.