A Rationale for Tying Merchants' Membership of Platforms Serving Independent Markets. This thesis was submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Humanities by Michael King during September 2010. I analyses the effect of tying sellers' membership of a monopoly platform to membership of another platform, which operates in an otherwise competitive market. Visa's contentious use of the honour-all-cards rule to tie their debit and credit cards is an example of such a tie-in. There has been a move to judge tying cases under "rule of reason", which permits dubious practices when they are indispensable to creating economic benefit. However, a proportion of the extra-surplus must be passed on to consumers ("pass on test"). Rochet and Tirole (2008) claimed that tying payment cards raised Visa's profit without harming end-users. However, this doesn't fully address the concerns of regulators. Hence, my thesis investigates whether tying satisfied the "pass on test". Part I: In Rochet-Tirole (2008) sellers operate in two independent markets (ç and d). Network A runs platforms in both markets; and Network B only operates in market d. The price-level (buyer-fee plus seller-fee) on a network's platforms is exogenously determined but they can choose the price-structure. My study extended this framework by explicitly modelling competition in the product market. Part II: Platform competition leads to a price-structure that maximizes the net-benefit received by buyers and sellers. In contrast, a monopoly platform extracts most of the surplus by encouraging excessive use of payment-cards. Therefore, if tying is prohibited, then competition for sellers in market d leads to an optimal price-structure. However, Network A extracts most of the surplus created by its monopoly platform. Finally, if the average transaction-cost, τ, exceeds the price-level, ρ, then the net-benefit generated by a monopoly platform remains strictly positive. Part III: By tying its platforms Network A can exclude Network B. However, Network A is unable to exclude Network B just by matching the net-benefit it generates; rather, it must "compensate" sellers for the extra competition they face from being on the same network. Therefore, if tying is permitted, then the total net-benefit on Network A exceeds the maximum benefit that can be generated by a single platform. Part IV: It was found that if transaction-fees, ρ, are high relative to transaction-costs, τ, then tying always increases the consumer surplus. However, if transaction-fees, ρ, are low relative to transaction-costs, τ, then tying doesn't benefit consumers; and will reduce the consumer-surplus if their transaction-costs are sufficiently high.

This master's thesis deals with the design of a suitable payment system for a newly emerging e-shop. It analyzes the e-business environment and informs about existing payment methods, their advantages and disadvantages. Last but not least, this thesis deals with the development of electronic payments in the Czech Republic. The main part of the work is the analysis of various payment methods and their comparison on several levels.

This thesis deals with the most significant forms of electronic banking. It focuses on their safety and their present state. The payment cards and their usage in common shops and on the Internet are analyzed. The thesis very detailed highlights problems connected with automated teller machines and it designs instruction for their safe operation. The actual situation of micropayment systems is described in detail. The head representatives are compared in light of functionality, limitations and operating fees, which are related to customers and sellers. The thesis includes the survey of current accounts intended for students in the Czech Republic, their comparison and advices for choice of the acceptable bank products.

The objective of my thesis is to describe overall technological concept and organizational scheme od payment cards and outline trends and development in the near future. There has been a big effort for industry standardization (e.g. security standards). It describes also advantages and disadvantages of payment cards and means of authorization. The infomation mentioned here will be used in later part, in case studies. My 3-years working experience as a project manager at Wincor Nixdorf helped to further investigate these scenarios. This company is one of the market leaders and key players in banking and retail industry. Since the cost related issues are very importnant (especially in the time of crisis), I analysed and compared several scenarios of payment system installation in retail.

A indústria de cartões de pagamento é definida pela literatura acadêmica como um mercado de dois lados. Um dos lados é o mercado de emissão, que realiza a comercialização de cartões para os portadores. O outro lado é o mercado de credenciamento, que efetua a afiliação de estabelecimentos comerciais para que estes aceitem pagamentos com cartões. O foco deste trabalho é o mercado de credenciamento no Brasil. O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a concentração do mercado brasileiro de credenciamento no período entre 2010, quando houve o início da intervenção governamental na indústria de cartões, e 2016. Com a imposição do fim do monopólio no credenciamento das principais marcas mundiais, Visa e Mastercard, os órgãos reguladores buscavam estimular a entrada de novos concorrentes, a fim de obter uma melhor eficiência econômica e maior bem-estar social. Os resultados deste trabalho evidenciaram redução na concentração do mercado com a entrada de novos concorrentes, embora os índices permaneçam elevados. O trabalho buscou analisar, também, a variação das taxas cobradas dos estabelecimentos comerciais neste período. Neste aspecto, os resultados mostram que as taxas médias anunciadas pelas credenciadoras, cobradas normalmente de pequenos estabelecimentos, aumentaram para as transações de débito, ao contrário do que se esperava para um mercado com mais concorrentes, e se mantiveram estáveis para transações de crédito. As elevadas taxas de intercâmbio, a falta de interoperabilidade dos sistemas de captura das transações e a continuidade de contratos de exclusividade para aceitação de cartões entre emissores e credenciadores representaram dificuldades para que os objetivos dos órgãos reguladores fossem plenamente alcançados no período analisado. / The payment cards industry is a two-sided market, as defined by the academic literature. In one side there is the card issuing market that accomplishes the commercialization of cards for the cardholders. The other side is the acquiring market that makes the affiliation of merchants to accept payments with cards. The focus of this work is the acquiring market in Brazil. The objective of the study is to analyze the concentration of the Brazilian acquiring market in the period between 2010, when there was the beginning of the government intervention in the card industry, to 2016. With the mandate to end the acquiring monopoly of the main world brands, Visa and Mastercard, the regulatory agencies sought to stimulate the entrance of new competitors, in order to obtain a better economic efficiency and greater social welfare. The study results showed a reduction in market concentration with the entry of new competitors, although the concentration remains high. The work also aimed to analyze the variation of prices charged to merchants in this period. In this respect, the results show that the average rates announced by the acquirers, applied normally to small businesses, increased for debit transactions, contrary to what was expected for a market with more competitors and remained stable for credit transactions. The high interchange rates, the lack of interoperability of transaction capture systems and the continuation of exclusivity agreements for the acceptance of cards between issuers and acquirers represented difficul,ties for the objectives of the regulatory bodies to be fully achieved in the period under review.

The aim of the diploma thesis The Use of payment cards at the czech retail market is the analysis of benefits for card holders and the retailers. The theoretical part describes the history of payment cards, their types, variability of their use and supporting services and defines the relationship among holders of payment cards, banks and retailers. The practical part is focused on the research motives for using payment cards by their holders and the retailers.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjama Lietuvoje veikiančių komercinių bankų elektroninės bankininkystės paslaugos 2006 – 2010 m. laikotarpiu. Pirmoje darbo dalyje pateikiami teoriniai elektroninės bankininkystės aspektai. Antroje darbo dalyje atlikta elektroninės bankininkystės paslaugų analizė: nustatyta, jog bankų pajamų iš elektroninės bankininkystės paslaugų rodikliai buvo pasiskirstę gana netolygiai; elektroninės bankininkystės vartotojų skaičius visuose bankuose didėja. Negrynųjų pinigų atsiskaitymus palyginus su grynųjų pinigų atsiskaitymais nustatyta, jog negrynieji pinigai labiausiai yra naudojami didelės sumos operacijoms atlikti. Atlikus mokėjimo kortelių operacijų įvertinimą nustatyta, jog Lietuvos vartotojai 2006 – 2010 m. buvo linkę atsiskaitinėti grynaisiais pinigais, tačiau ši tendencija ateityje turėtų pasikeisti. Koreliacinės – regresinės analizės metu nustatyta, jog negrynųjų pinigų atsiskaitymų ryšys su grynųjų pinigų atsiskaitymais yra atvirkštinis, o negrynųjų pinigų atsiskaitymų ir šalies BVP – tiesioginis. Atlikus elektroninės bankininkystės perspektyvų vertinimą, nustatyta, jog elektroninė bankininkystė Lietuvoje ir toliau plėsis. / Bachelor final work examines e-banking services of the commercial banks operating in Lithuania, for the period of year 2006 – 2010. The first part presents the theoretical aspects of electronic banking. The second part of the work presents the carried out analysis of electronic banking services: the figures of established banking income from electronic banking services were quite unevenly distributed; the number of users of electronic banking is increasing for all banks. Non-cash payments were compared to the cash payments, which showed that most non-cash money is used for transactions of large sums of money. The evaluation of payment card operations showed that residents of Lithuania in period of year 2006 – 2010 tended to pay with cash, but this trend should change in the future. The correlation – regression analysis showed that there is inverse relation between non-cash payments and cash payments and direct relation between non-cash payments and Lithuanian’s GDP. The qualitative assessment of prospects for online banking showed that e-banking in Lithuania continues to grow.

A indústria de cartões de pagamento é definida pela literatura acadêmica como um mercado de dois lados. Um dos lados é o mercado de emissão, que realiza a comercialização de cartões para os portadores. O outro lado é o mercado de credenciamento, que efetua a afiliação de estabelecimentos comerciais para que estes aceitem pagamentos com cartões. O foco deste trabalho é o mercado de credenciamento no Brasil. O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a concentração do mercado brasileiro de credenciamento no período entre 2010, quando houve o início da intervenção governamental na indústria de cartões, e 2016. Com a imposição do fim do monopólio no credenciamento das principais marcas mundiais, Visa e Mastercard, os órgãos reguladores buscavam estimular a entrada de novos concorrentes, a fim de obter uma melhor eficiência econômica e maior bem-estar social. Os resultados deste trabalho evidenciaram redução na concentração do mercado com a entrada de novos concorrentes, embora os índices permaneçam elevados. O trabalho buscou analisar, também, a variação das taxas cobradas dos estabelecimentos comerciais neste período. Neste aspecto, os resultados mostram que as taxas médias anunciadas pelas credenciadoras, cobradas normalmente de pequenos estabelecimentos, aumentaram para as transações de débito, ao contrário do que se esperava para um mercado com mais concorrentes, e se mantiveram estáveis para transações de crédito. As elevadas taxas de intercâmbio, a falta de interoperabilidade dos sistemas de captura das transações e a continuidade de contratos de exclusividade para aceitação de cartões entre emissores e credenciadores representaram dificuldades para que os objetivos dos órgãos reguladores fossem plenamente alcançados no período analisado. / The payment cards industry is a two-sided market, as defined by the academic literature. In one side there is the card issuing market that accomplishes the commercialization of cards for the cardholders. The other side is the acquiring market that makes the affiliation of merchants to accept payments with cards. The focus of this work is the acquiring market in Brazil. The objective of the study is to analyze the concentration of the Brazilian acquiring market in the period between 2010, when there was the beginning of the government intervention in the card industry, to 2016. With the mandate to end the acquiring monopoly of the main world brands, Visa and Mastercard, the regulatory agencies sought to stimulate the entrance of new competitors, in order to obtain a better economic efficiency and greater social welfare. The study results showed a reduction in market concentration with the entry of new competitors, although the concentration remains high. The work also aimed to analyze the variation of prices charged to merchants in this period. In this respect, the results show that the average rates announced by the acquirers, applied normally to small businesses, increased for debit transactions, contrary to what was expected for a market with more competitors and remained stable for credit transactions. The high interchange rates, the lack of interoperability of transaction capture systems and the continuation of exclusivity agreements for the acceptance of cards between issuers and acquirers represented difficul,ties for the objectives of the regulatory bodies to be fully achieved in the period under review.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A pesquisa detém sua atenção nos sentidos sociais e culturais dos meios de pagamento. Para tal, investiga dois domínios: o universo publicitário construído pelas empresas de tecnologias de pagamento (Visa e MasterCard) e outro prático, vivido por jovens universitários. Correlacionar e comparar as estratégias discursivas de apresentação dos cartões de crédito e os usos práticos desta ferramenta financeira tornou-se o ponto central do estudo. Primeiro, são examinados os sentidos dos meios de pagamento (em especial o cartão de crédito) atribuídos pelos especialistas - profissionais de marketing, planejadores de comunicação, redatores e diretores de arte, responsáveis pela promoção das ferramentas financeiras. Em seguida, concentra-se nos usos práticos dos jovens universitários, nos sentidos conferidos por estes aos cartões de crédito que usam. Comparar este dois domínios possibilita verificar a dificuldade de se falar sobre o dinheiro, o cartão de débito ou o cartão de crédito. Os meios de pagamento devem ser entendidos no plural, suas definições e funções são distintas e variam conforme aqueles que os utilizam. / The research draws your attention towards the social and cultural meaning of means of payment. In order to do so, two different domains are studied: the domain of the advertising - produced by the payment technology companies - and the practical domain, which is lived by young college students. Comparing and matching the discursive strategies used for presenting credit cards with the ordinary uses of these financial tools has become the main study issue. The first part of the study regards the meanings of the means of payment (especially credit cards) made by professionals such as: marketing professionals, communication planners, composers, and art directs being them responsible for the release of these financial tools. The second studied issue focuses on the ordinary uses of the means of payment made by college students, especially the significance given to these financial tools by their users. When comparing these two worlds, the difficulties to talk about the money, the cash and credit card arise. The methods of payment must be referred to in plural, their definitions and roles are distinct and they vary according to those who use them.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A pesquisa detém sua atenção nos sentidos sociais e culturais dos meios de pagamento. Para tal, investiga dois domínios: o universo publicitário construído pelas empresas de tecnologias de pagamento (Visa e MasterCard) e outro prático, vivido por jovens universitários. Correlacionar e comparar as estratégias discursivas de apresentação dos cartões de crédito e os usos práticos desta ferramenta financeira tornou-se o ponto central do estudo. Primeiro, são examinados os sentidos dos meios de pagamento (em especial o cartão de crédito) atribuídos pelos especialistas - profissionais de marketing, planejadores de comunicação, redatores e diretores de arte, responsáveis pela promoção das ferramentas financeiras. Em seguida, concentra-se nos usos práticos dos jovens universitários, nos sentidos conferidos por estes aos cartões de crédito que usam. Comparar este dois domínios possibilita verificar a dificuldade de se falar sobre o dinheiro, o cartão de débito ou o cartão de crédito. Os meios de pagamento devem ser entendidos no plural, suas definições e funções são distintas e variam conforme aqueles que os utilizam. / The research draws your attention towards the social and cultural meaning of means of payment. In order to do so, two different domains are studied: the domain of the advertising - produced by the payment technology companies - and the practical domain, which is lived by young college students. Comparing and matching the discursive strategies used for presenting credit cards with the ordinary uses of these financial tools has become the main study issue. The first part of the study regards the meanings of the means of payment (especially credit cards) made by professionals such as: marketing professionals, communication planners, composers, and art directs being them responsible for the release of these financial tools. The second studied issue focuses on the ordinary uses of the means of payment made by college students, especially the significance given to these financial tools by their users. When comparing these two worlds, the difficulties to talk about the money, the cash and credit card arise. The methods of payment must be referred to in plural, their definitions and roles are distinct and they vary according to those who use them.