Price regulation in two-sided markets: Empirical evidence from debit cards

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Mukharlyamov, Vladimir; Sarin, Natasha
• 署名单位: Georgetown University; Yale University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2025.104094
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Financial Regulation; Dodd Frank; Durbin Amendment; Two-sided markets; Debit cards; Credit cards; payments

摘要

This paper provides empirical evidence of a well-known theoretical concern that market failures in two-sided markets are hard to identify and correct. We study the reactions of banks, merchants, and consumers to Dodd-Frank's Durbin Amendment that lowered interchange fees on debit card transactions. Banks recouped a significant portion of their losses by charging consumers for products that they previously provided for free on the subsidized side of the two-sided market. The accelerated adoption of credit cards with higher interchange fees likely diminished-if not eliminated-merchants' savings. These effects impede the regulation's stated objective of enhancing consumers' welfare through lower retail prices.