No Free Lunches – Next MDC Webinar Covers Hidden Cost of Payments

The next webinar from the MDC (Mint Directors Conference) takes place on 16 September on the topic of ‘What is the Cost to Consumers and Society of Cash v the Cost of ‘Electronic’ / Digital Payments?’ The saying goes that there is ‘no such thing as a free lunch’. When we buy something we are seldom confronted with the costs of making that payment. This webinar seeks to understand those costs, both financial and societal.

The financial cost of payments is fiercely debated, since an objective assessment depends on the starting point and the assumptions. In addition, the digital payment sector is famous for making transaction fees and charges opaque and hard to understand.

The societal costs include the cost of crime, financial exclusion, privacy, the environmental impact, resilience and more. Again, achieving an objective comparison is hard.