The way consumers pay for goods and services has changed dramatically in the past 15 years. Electronic payment systems like Apple Pay and PayPal, peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo, and even Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have emerged as competitors to cash and credit cards. These non-traditional payment methods have the potential to make transactions easier for merchants as well as customers, increase financial inclusion, and boost local economies, but they bring with them accounting complexities, new avenues for fraud, and, in the case of crypto, alarming volatility and even environmental damage.
The goal of David Argente’s elective course From Cash to Crypto: The Evolution of Payment Methods is to prepare young leaders to navigate this ever-changing terrain. The course takes students on a global tour of the financial ecosystem, with case studies related to the impact of demonetization in India, the regulation of credit cards in Costa Rica, and the success of the mobile phone-based currency M-Pesa in Africa. Along with many others, these real-world cases illustrate the impact of different payment methods in different social contexts.
Argente, who first offered the course in Spring 2024, aims to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the payment systems in use today, while also preparing them to examine and interact with new currencies that may arise tomorrow.
A field in flux
Just a decade ago, Argente says, people interested in studying payment methods would have had very little research to draw on. But the increasing variety of payment methods, and their deployment in different social contexts, has created a wealth of case studies for students to use today. Argente anticipates that the course’s curriculum will change yearly to reflect new developments in the field.
Teaching and learning
Argente frequently draws on his own research in the classroom. And since payment methods impact nearly every business sector, students often contribute insights based on their own professional experience, creating a uniquely collaborative environment.
Payments for the people
Argente’s work focuses on payment methods in developing countries, especially the use of nontraditional currencies as a tool to increase financial inclusion. He has published papers on the use of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador; Uber’s decision to accept cash payments in Mexico; the social costs of discouraging cash usage in Mexico; and the wide adoption of peer-to-peer payments in Costa Rica. His teaching is also guided by professional experience at the World Bank and the Bank of Mexico.
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