Household Financial Transaction Data

Abstract

The growth of the availability and use of detailed household financial transaction micro data has dramatically expanded the ability of researchers to understand both household decision making and aggregate economic fluctuations across a wide range of fields. This class of transaction data is derived from a myriad of sources, including financial institutions, FinTech apps, and payment intermediaries. We review how these detailed data have been utilized in finance and economics research and analyze both their benefits and limitations as compared to more traditional measures of income, spending, and wealth. Finally, we discuss the future potential of this flexible class of data in firm-focused research, real-time policy analysis, and macro statistics.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) ...on your credit card

“…10 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-capital-one-fin-payments/capital-onestops-risky-buy-now-pay-later-credit-card-transactions-idUSKBN28H0OR. 11 See Baker and Kueng (2022) for a review of household financial transaction data.…”

Big data financial transactions and GDP nowcasting: The case of Turkey

“…Nontraditional financial transactions including electronic payments have been increasingly used. Baker and Kueng (2022) summarize well the evolution in the use of financial transaction data that has occurred in recent years in three broad groups:…”

Consumption Effects of Mortgage Payment Holidays: Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The use of administrative micro data from alternative sources, such as the one used here, has been key for tracking households' consumption patterns during the pandemic (Baker & Kueng, 2021;Vavra, 2021). The MDB App is free and allows users to link their current accounts, savings accounts and credit cards on one platform.…”