Transaction costs are a significant barrier to the take-up and use of formal financial services. Account opening fees and minimum balance requirements prevent the poor from opening bank accounts (Dupas and Robinson 2013), and small subsidies can lead to large increases in take-up (Cole, Sampson, and Zia 2011). Indirect transaction costs-such as travel time-are also a barrier: the distance to the nearest bank or mobile money agent is a key predictor of take-up of savings accounts (Dupas et al. forthcoming) and mobile money (Jack and Suri 2014). In turn, increased access to financial services can reduce poverty and increase welfare (Burgess and Pande 2005; Suri and Jack 2016).Digital financial services, such as ATMs, debit cards, mobile money, and digital credit, have the potential to reduce transaction costs. However, existing studies rarely measure indirect transaction costs. We provide evidence on how a specific technology-a debit card-lowers indirect transaction costs by reducing travel distance and foregone activities.
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机译：交易成本是使用和使用正式金融服务的重大障碍。开户费用和最低余额要求阻止了穷人开设银行账户（Dupas和Robinson，2013年），小额补贴可能导致收入增加（Cole，Sampson和Zia，2011年）。间接交易成本（例如旅行时间）也是一个障碍：距离最近的银行或移动货币代理商的距离是储蓄账户（Dupas等人即将出版）和移动货币（Jack and Suri 2014）占用的关键预测指标）。反过来，增加获得金融服务的机会可以减少贫困和增加福利（Burgess和Pande 2005; Suri和Jack 2016）。数字金融服务，例如自动柜员机，借记卡，移动货币和数字信贷，有可能减少交易费用。但是，现有研究很少衡量间接交易成本。我们提供有关特定技术（借记卡）如何通过减少出行距离和放弃活动来降低间接交易成本的证据。
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