Note: As of December 2008, the Emerging Payments Research Group has been renamed the Consumer Payments Research Center.

The Consumer Payments Research Center aims to fill a knowledge gap by becoming the Federal Reserve System leader in research and policy analysis on the demand-side of money and payments, by focusing on consumer payment behavior that includes the behavior of individuals, households, firms and government.  The overarching goal of the CPRC is to contribute to the development of sound and effective public policies for the payment systems that help maximize the welfare of all participants in the economy. 

Policy and Research Objectives

Demand for money and payments
Study the demand for money and payments to help the Federal Reserve forecast, plan, and implement the most efficient supply and pricing of consumer and business payment services, with an emphasis on existing payments (cash, checks, credit, debit, ACH, and Treasury payments).

Project Overview

1. Implement 2008-2009 Surveys of Consumer Payment Choice
2. Develop model(s) of check use and technology adoption
3. Develop other data sources or surveys pertinent to studying payment demand, especially collaborating with CPO on studies of cash use

Consumer protection and financial literacy
Evaluate consumers' preferences and financial literacy to help the Federal Reserve and Congress enact the most beneficial regulations, laws, and educational programs to protect and support consumer payment choices.

Project Overview

1. Study and evaluate the effects of payment card interchange fees on consumer welfare, and propose potential policy solutions
2. Collaborate with the Research Center for Behavioral Economics and Decisionmaking to evaluate and recommend possible improvements in disclosure policies associated with consumer payments
3. Collaborate with the Public and Community Affairs Department to study the payment choices of low-income and moderate-income (LMI) consumers

Payment markets
Study and facilitate the interaction between supply and demand for money and payments as follows:

• Identify barriers to adoption, such as security or lack of interoperability, by supporting industry efforts to develop and implement new or improved payment instruments and systems.
  
  
• Identify potential market failures in small cross-border payments (such as user access, competition among providers, frictions).
  
  
• Provide analyses of demand-side perspectives on payment system standards to the appropriate standard-setting organizations.