Invisible money: Family finances in the electronic economy

Abstract

We are currently in the midst of a revolution in the ways in which ordinary people receive, hold and spend their money. Far more people than ever before now have bank accounts, use credit and debit cards, shop with smart cards instead of cash, and bank by phone or over the Internet. All these developments are changing the ways in which individuals and couples manage their money and increasing the inequalities between those who can and those who cannot gain access to the 'electronic economy'.The study is the first to explore how ordinary men and women are using new forms of money. In this book Jan Pahl:examines the extent to which new forms of money constrain or enhance the access which individuals have to money and credit;considers whether access to money held electronically is related to other characteristics of individuals, such as income, employment status, education, age, gender, spending power and access to goods and services;draws out the implications for those responsible for policy making, in terms of combating financial exclusion, access to credit, the provision of financial information and the changing nature of family life.The results suggest an increasing polarisation between households and individuals. Those who are affluent and technologically confident may enjoy and be excited by new forms of money: in the electronic economy of the future they are also likely to be privileged consumers. At the other extreme are those who are more or less completely excluded from the electronic economy. Within marriage, individuals can use new forms of money to control family finances, to conceal spending from each other or to maintain a higher standard of living than their partners. Men tend to make more use of new forms of money than women do and this may be changing the balance of financial power within families.Based on interviews, focus groups and quantitative data on spending, Invisible money will be of great interest to policy makers in the relevant fields, to people working in financial services and in advice centres, and to anyone who is concerned with marriage and family life.

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