# Swipe now, regret later? How credit cards reduce the appeal of safe choices

## TL;DR

This paper shows that using credit cards instead of cash weakens the tendency to choose middle options when making decisions.

## Contribution

The study reveals that the compromise effect is reduced with credit card payments due to the pain of paying.

## Key findings

- Credit card payments reduce the compromise effect compared to cash payments.
- The pain of paying mediates the relationship between payment form and the compromise effect.
- Cash payments have a stronger impact on the compromise effect for tightwads than spendthrifts.

## Abstract

Most research on the influence of decision-making on the compromise effect has focused on paying with cash rather than with a credit card. The experimental investigations of this paper revealed that the compromise effect was reduced when consumers paid with a credit card rather than with cash, and that the pain of paying played a mediating role between the payment form and the occurrence of the compromise effect. In addition, the authors successfully excluded alternative explanations such as differences in price, product category, and attribute importance. Finally, this paper showed that the impact of cash payments on the compromise effect was stronger among tightwads than among spendthrifts.