The Semblance of Success in Nudging Consumers to Pay Down Credit Card Debt

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Guttman-Kenney, Benedict; Adams, Paul; Hunt, Stefan; Laibson, David; Stewart, Neil; Leary, Jesse
• 署名单位: Rice University; Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA); University of London; London School Economics & Political Science; Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Warwick
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230568
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: behavior; payment

摘要

We test a nudge in a field experiment on credit cards. The nudge shrouds the autopay enrollment option for cardholders to automatically pay exactly the credit card minimum payment each month. After six months, the nudge decreases the fraction of cardholders who only pay exactly the minimum by 23 percent. However, the nudge does not significantly reduce credit card debt. Nudged cardholders often choose autopay amounts that are only slightly higher than the minimum payment. The nudge reduces autopay enrollment, which increases missed payments. The nudge reduces manual payments by autopay enrollees. Cardholders frequently lacking liquid cash best explains our results. (JEL C93, D12, D91, G21, G51)