Share these talks and lectures with your colleagues
Invite colleaguesResearch paper
Incentives and mechanisms for boosting electronic payments: A case study of the Albanian payments landscape
Journal of Payments Strategy & Systems,
7
(3),
271-281
(2013)
Abstract
This paper explores incentive schemes for the facilitation of e-payments in Albania. The paper is motivated by two facts: first, prior research has shown that e-payments are more cost efficient than paper-based payments; second, Albania has fallen behind in terms of e-payment use compared with other Balkan countries. In fact, Albania ranks last in the Balkans in main e-payment indicators, such as debit/credit cards in circulation and e-POS systems installed. This paper proposes a series of incentives and mechanisms that can help the country accelerate the process of transitioning to e-payments in the short and medium run. It does so by focusing only on incentives that need to be provided to consumers and merchants, since they constitute the main demand and supply sides, at least for retail payments. The paper argues that the government and financial institutions will also have an important role to play in the transition process. They will lead from behind, however, in that they will facilitate the incentive schemes, which will subsequently be absorbed by consumers and merchants. While some of the incentives proposed in the paper are specific to the Albanian financial environment, others can be generalised to other countries in the Balkans.
Keywords: e-payments; incentives; consumers; merchants; Albania
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Holti Banka is pursuing his PhD at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, focusing on International Development and Economic Policy. He has been involved with projects at the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation on payment systems. His primary academic research looks at ways of achieving financial inclusion and economic growth through the use of electronic payment instruments. Specifically, his research on payment systems has three main themes. The first one is associated with the cost aspect of payments and specifically the quantification and measurement of societal costs that stem from the use of payment instruments. The second theme includes the empirical assessment of the effects that epayment adoption have on macroeconomic indicators such as consumption. The third theme explores the process of converting cash transfers into e-transfers and the benefits attached to the process for governments and the transfer recipients. As a native Albanian who grew up in Greece, Holti Banka has done extensive research on the payments landscape in the Balkans, among other regions of the world. He received his BA in Economics and Mathematics from Williams College, Massachusetts, and his MPP from the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland.
