As a major electronic alternative to cash, central banks and state administrations often support the development of card payments with regulatory and public policy steps. Hungary was extremely active in this field by executing POS-terminal installation programmes or setting limits to interchange fees a year before the European regulation. Within this study we investigate, how these measures contributed to the recent evolution of Hungary's payment card market. Using the comprehensive dataset of the Central Bank of Hungary, we provide empirical evidence using time-series analysis methods, that both policy steps had a significant positive effect on the domestic card payments scene.

* A jelen kiadványban megjelenő írások a szerzők nézeteit tartalmazzák, ami nem feltétlenül egyezik a Magyar Nemzeti Bank hivatalos álláspontjával.

After the eastern expansion of the European Union (EU), a large number of emigrants left their home countries to work in economically better developed western member states. Hungary followed this EU emigration trend with a certain time lag. However, the rising number of emigrants caused structural problems in the domestic labour market. A comprehensive examination of intra-EU remittances as one of the major determinants of migration has been outside the scope of recent research activity. The data from the Hungarian Microcensus survey and the first Hungarian household survey focusing on the topic of remittances can provide a valuable case study of intra-EU private transfer flows. The aims of this study are twofold. On the one hand we intend to provide empirical evidence for the major factors that determine remittance propensity by calculating probit regressions. On the other hand, OLS regressions are calculated in order to introduce variables which are associated with money transfers. These results are interpreted within the theoretical framework of the New Economics of Labour Migration (NELM) to identify the underlying motivations for remittances. The most important findings are that older men with vocational school education have the highest remittance propensity, and the likelihood of sending private support is higher among short-term migrants. As the key factors, the income of the sender person is positively associated with the sum of money flows, while the income of the receiving household is negatively associated. Within the theoretical framework of NELM, these results favour the dominance of altruistic motives, since supporting the household members who remain behind seems to be the major driving force. However, when intentions of returning home are considered in the models, it seems that self-interest might also play a role as a driver of remittances. Within this study, the main focus was on the characteristics of the senders, meaning that a possible field of future research could be an examination of these questions from the perspective of remittance receiver households.

Tíz év alatt közel másfélszeresére nőtt a lebonyolított fizetési tranzakciók száma Magyarországon. Az elektronikus fizetési módok használata dinamikusan nőtt, míg a készpénzhasználatban csupán mérsékelt növekedés volt megfigyelhető. Az elemzés bemutatja a pénzforgalom fejlődését és számszerűsíti a fizetési módok használatával járó társadalmi költségeket. Ez utóbbi értéke 832 milliárd forint volt 2019-ben, ami 20 százalékos reálnövekedést jelent 10 év alatt, amely elsősorban az elfogadói infrastruktúra fejlesztésének költségeire és a jelentős tranzakciószám növekedésére vezethető vissza. A készpénz esetében 10 százalékkal, kártyánál a felére, átutalásnál hatodával csökkent az egy tranzakcióra jutó reálköltség, ami a javuló hatékonyságot mutatja. Mivel mostanra a legtöbb kiskereskedelmi fizetési helyzetben van elektronikus fizetés lehetőség, így a következő években az elektronikus forgalom bővülésével az egy tranzakcióra jutó költségek várhatóan tovább csökkennek.

In retail trade, card payments currently represent the most important alternative to cash, which is less favourable from a social perspective in the long run. Earlier studies typically focused on the development opportunities of Hungarian electronic payments at the country level only. This study uses previously unavailable data to examine the regional features of card payments in Hungary, identifying the factors influencing their infrastructure and use. The results show that in smaller settlements the acceptor network is less developed and card ownership is lower, while in terms of regions, the situation looks bleaker in Northern Hungary and Central Transdanubia with respect to the POS network, and in the counties of the Great Plain this is the case in relation to card ownership. Card use is significantly influenced by the level of development of the acceptor network as well as the labour market situation. The results reaffirm the necessity of developing the card acquiring network, for example with state-led programmes, and highlight the fact that in smaller settlements and less developed regions, card payments are still not sophisticated enough.