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Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing (MIT Press) Paperback – December 17, 2004

by David S. Evans (Author), Richard Schmalensee (Author)

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The definitive account of the trillion-dollar payment card industry.

The payment card business has evolved from its inception in the 1950s as a way to handle payment for expense-account lunches (the Diners Club card) into today's complex, sprawling industry that drives trillions of dollars in transaction volume each year. Paying with Plastic is the definitive source on an industry that has revolutionized the way we borrow and spend. More than a history book, Paying with Plastic delivers an entertaining discussion of the impact of an industry that epitomizes the notion of two-sided markets: those in which two or more customer groups receive value only if all sides are actively engaged. New to this second edition, the two-sided market discussion provides useful insight into the implications of these market dynamics for cardholder rewards, merchant interchange fees, and card acceptance. The authors, both of whom have researched the industry for more than 25 years, also examine the implications of the recent antitrust cases on the industry as well as other business and technological changes -- including the massive consolidation brought about by bank mergers, the rise of the debit card, and the emergence of e-commerce -- that could alter the payment card industry dramatically in the years to come.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For better or worse, most of us have at least one of the 720 million little plastic cards that are used each year to complete $860 billion worth of purchases at 15 million incredibly varied merchant locations throughout the world. This is a far cry from the humble beginnings of these myriad credit, debit, and charge cards, which just a few decades ago were generally a perk offered only to elite customers for the acquisition of fine meals, hotel rooms, department-store goods, and oil-company products. They are now so common and such an integral part of our economy, in fact, that few pay them much mind--a situation that makes David Evans and Richard Schmalensee's Paying with Plastic all the more interesting. Evans, senior vice president of National Economics Research Associates, and Schmalensee, dean of MIT's Sloan School of Management, meticulously trace the history of these cards from both the consumer and merchant perspectives in this surprisingly appealing volume, which will prove enlightening to anyone who ever wondered how plastic money works. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Authors Evans and Schmalensee have written the definitive book on the business of bank cards. The reader will come away an expert, with a clear understanding of the business drivers, the players, and the complex issues behind the business of bank cards. This should be required reading for anyone engaged in the bank card industry, from executives at the associations to systems integrators and vendors that service this market.

(John C. Gould, Director of Consumer Lending and Bank Cards Practice, TowerGroup)

An excellent treatment of the payment card industry's evolving structure and conduct.

(Daniel Pope Enterprise & Society)

Paying with Plastic examines a quiet revolution in the U.S. economy the steady transition from checks and cash to credit, debit, and charge cards. The authors describe the causes and consequences of this transition in terms of economics and law all in plain English that the nonspecialist can understand. This book has become an immensely valuable source on an important subject.

(Robert Pitofsky, Joseph and Madeline Sheehy Professor in Antitrust and Trade Regulation Law, and Dean Emeritus, Georgetown Law School, and former Chairman, Federal Trade Commission)

Paying with Plastic is a practical discussion about a complex industry that drives almost $3 trillion in worldwide purchases every year. Evans and Schmalensee illuminate the inner workings of an industry that many know by virtue of the cards we carry in our wallets, but few really understand. It is required reading for anyone who works in, works with, or studies payment cards.

(Timothy Muris, Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University, and former Chairman, Federal Trade Commission)

Well-written and clearly presented.

(Tudor Marshall The Business Economist)

Evans and Schmalensee's Paying with Plastic provides a rigorous analysis and deep insights about the payment card industry's fascinating institutional features. This book will appeal not only to policy-makers and business executives, but also to the theoretically inclined economist. The second edition incorporates much new material, including recent advances to two-sided market economics (to which the authors have made substantial contributions). A remarkable achievement.

(Jean Tirole, Institut d'Economie Industrielle, University of Toulouse)

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Product details

Series: MIT Press
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: The MIT Press; second edition edition (December 17, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 026255058X
ISBN-13: 978-0262550581
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 11 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #33 in Books > Business & Money > Personal Finance > Credit Ratings & Repair
- #35 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Commerce
- #134 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Banks & Banking

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xmarc999

Comprehensive analysis of the payment industry

January 28, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is the most accurate analysis of the the payment card industry, and I highly recommend it for any professional in the industry. A bit dry - a more exciting beach read can be found in The PayPal Wars. But this is a detailed exploration. I will note that this is the second edition, and there have been promises (and even published chapters) from the third edition. I look forward to the third edition and it may be worth checking out the MIT Press website to see if the third edition is out.

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Larry Chiang

What's old will be new again

October 24, 2005

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Paying with Plastic first edition has been revamped, rewritten and repositioned here with edition number two.

Most important, Paying with Plastic "2.0" addresses new developments of online payment processing. The authors correctly begin to question the requirement of a merchant set top box for reading "antiquated magnetic stripes".

"Old is new" item #1. Frank McNamara's Diners Club platform would cost about $50,000 to set up today. What's the next mutiny of merchants?

Old is new item #2. Sears starting up Discover and getting to more merchants tha American Express -all within 2 years. Moore's law (doubling within time) would suggest the next Discover would ramp up in less time.

Old is new #3. Industries in decline, lobby best. The payment industry's recently raised interchange rates. Does technology cost more?! No, but growth is stagnant.

Old is new #4. Whoops, John Reed (ex-ceo of Citibank) pulled their Visa membership (p14) and moved the Mastercard logo to the back. Why?! Pull the entire Citi into a closed loop - Citi wanted to be like Amex and Discover. There will be more banks doing this like Chase (Octogon) or MBNA (PayPass).

Old is new #5. Wal-mart as a bank. See Sears above in #2. Wal-marts pays fees to V/MC/D/Amex but they'd rather charge fees and lend money. Why just make $2.00 on the VCR when you can make $10 on the financing. By the way, I like the payment system name, "Wallycard"... just kidding.

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Dion F. Lisle

Great Overview

November 4, 2006

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you work in the payments, credit card or finance industry this book is great. It has a very easy to read history about credit cards, who knew Diners Club invented the category in the 50's. But more importantly is how the industry is moving forward and progressing.

Overall, this is a book you read if you need to, but I can't imagine anyone outside the industry reading it. You would have to be the most intellecually curious person in the world if you read this cause you were interested in how credit cards work.

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Oscar Galvez

Paying with Plastic

June 24, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Vey basic but covers all the aspect of the credit card world. Also, gives some details about the industry mayor events and the recent developings after the Antitrust litigations against Visa and MasterCard.

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M. McCormack

Bias comes through.

November 16, 2001

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The authors both are long-time consultants for Visa and it is very apparent in this book. The discussion of MasterCard, Discover, and American Express is limited. The treatment of various legal actions (Nabanco, US DOJ, WalMart, duality) is one sided. There is minimal study of the economics of the business from vantage points (consumer, merchant, acquirer, Issuer, co-branding partner, etc.) other than the card association.
It's clear from some of the statistical material prsented that Visa particpated in the book.
Ever see JAG? It's about a real portrayl of the Navy & Marine Corp as this is of the card industry.

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Need more time

Outdated

May 6, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

2nd edition - Outdated. The payment industry is changing and it is not just a US invention. Japan is on the edge of electronic money through your cell phone.

Be aware that this is an overview and a dated one. And you won't be dissappointed.

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Highly Recommended!

May 9, 2005

Format: Paperback

In this history of payment cards, David S. Evans and Richard Schmalensee provide an amazingly lucid account of a couple of unusual business models: the "two-sided platform," which in the use of payment cards means walking a tightrope between the interests of merchants and consumers; and the "co-opetitive," in which the bank members of MasterCard and Visa cooperate in developing industry practices while competing for business. The authors, who are both former Visa consultants, sound like your favorite college professors - up to date and extremely sophisticated, yet friendly and anecdotal (at one point, they describe a Shell gas station near MIT to make a point about competition among cards). They typically begin chapters with easily understood notions from which they methodically build complex structures of ideas and information. Another virtue of the book is its concreteness - although that occasionally devolves into repetitiveness - starting with an explanation involving electronic signals and following the paper path of what happens when you hand your credit, debit or charge card to a cashier. The authors even consider the design and manufacture of the cards themselves. We recommend this book as essential reading for those in the banking or payment card industries; and it's not a bad idea for card users to read it - which these days means you...and just about everyone else.

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Andrei Hagiu

A remarkable accomplishment

July 11, 2005

Format: Paperback

It is a very difficult and ambitious task to write a book about an industry combining indispensable facts and history, fundamental business aspects and subtle economic insights. Yet this is precisely what the authors have done for credit cards, the digital quantum leap in the evolution of payment instruments. It is a very rewarding and fun read, providing the equivalent of a comprehensive 3D animated view of the organization of credit card companies (not-for-profit associations like Visa or for-profit firms like American Express) and of the complex ecosystem that surrounds them: banks, merchants, cardholders, regulators, ATM networks, etc.

And the "lens" of "multi-sided platforms" that Evans and Schmalensee use to conduct their analysis turns out to be so appealing and insightful that one wonders how economists, policy-makers, business people and even casual observers managed to make any sense of this industry before.

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Most recent customer reviews

Randall R. Wheeler

Solid History

Good accounting of history of Payments Industry, Having spent 35 years in this industry, I recognize many people, places and events. Easy to read and understand.Bound By Birth Read more

Published on June 30, 2009

CaryPraveen14

Great book!!

I loved this book and how the author talks about the fine points of credit cards and how American consumers got hooked into it.Read more

Published on January 3, 2006

Ng Chon Hsing

A monumental effort!

I picked up this book because I have always been interested in the history of money and the power of gold as currency.Read more

Published on October 13, 2000

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