https://macropaperwarehouse.com/authors/elia-moracci/Elia MoracciHugo -- gohugo.ioen-ushttps://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/cash-or-card-a-structural-model-of-payment-choices/https://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/cash-or-card-a-structural-model-of-payment-choices/<p>Lippi and Moracci (2026) ask how euro area households choose between cash and card payments, and whether existing theoretical models can explain observed behavior. They draw on ECB payment diary surveys (SUCH and SPACE waves I–III, 2015–2024) covering transaction-level records that include purchase size, payment method chosen, cash on hand before each transaction, and merchant acceptance of cards. This granular data allows the authors to isolate unforced payment choices — transactions in which the consumer had sufficient cash, the merchant accepted cards, and the consumer held a card — from mechanically constrained ones.</p>