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Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Imposing choice on the uninformed: the case of dynamic currency conversion
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Christian Ewerhart
  • Sheng Li
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Journal of Banking and Finance
Publisher Elsevier
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 0378-4266
Volume 154
Page Range 106917
Date 2023
Abstract Text Over the course of the past two decades, it has become a common experience for consumers authorizing an international transaction via credit card to be invited to choose the currency in which they wish the transaction to be executed. While this choice, made feasible by a technology known as dynamic currency conversion (DCC) , seems to foster competition, we argue that the opposite is the case. In fact, the unique pure-strategy equilibrium in a natural fee-setting game, with uninformed and possibly inattentive consumers, turns out to be highly asymmetric, entailing fees for the service provider that persistently exceed the monopoly level. Although losses in welfare may be substantial, a regulatory solution is unlikely to come about due to a global free-rider problem.
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Digital Object Identifier 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2023.106917
Other Identification Number merlin-id:23830
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Keywords Economics and econometrics, finance, dynamic currency conversion, credit cards, price competition, monopoly, free-rider problem, rational inattention