Denominational inflation: Limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems – Tanzania as a case study

This study examines the impact of the limited divisibility of money on price setting and inflation in Tanzania, a country that relies heavily on cash transactions. Through analyzing bus fares and prices listed in both domestic and international online shopping platforms, the research highlights the...

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Main Author: Francis Stephen Nyonzo
Format: Article
Language:Arabic
Published: University of Oran 2 Mohamed Ben Ahmed 2025-06-01
Series:Advanced Research in Economics and Business Strategy Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revue.univ-oran2.dz/Revue/AREBUS/index.php/AREBUS/article/view/82
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author Francis Stephen Nyonzo
author_facet Francis Stephen Nyonzo
author_sort Francis Stephen Nyonzo
collection DOAJ
description This study examines the impact of the limited divisibility of money on price setting and inflation in Tanzania, a country that relies heavily on cash transactions. Through analyzing bus fares and prices listed in both domestic and international online shopping platforms, the research highlights the economic implications of rounding prices to the nearest available currency denomination due to the absence of small denominations. The analysis reveals that ordinary bus users pay more due to price rounding to the nearest available denominations. Digital payment systems, on the other hand, reduce the need for adjustments that inflate costs. The study employed logistic regression to examine the relationship between the last digit of the price and the two different shopping malls. The findings suggest promoting digital payment systems to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy, reduce transaction costs, and ensure price accuracy, thereby proposing policy directions for Tanzania to transition from cash-based to digital payment systems.
format Article
id doaj-art-d5a4d86058cb464ab99e23dad3e532f4
institution Kabale University
issn 2716-9421
2773-3807
language Arabic
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher University of Oran 2 Mohamed Ben Ahmed
record_format Article
series Advanced Research in Economics and Business Strategy Journal
spelling doaj-art-d5a4d86058cb464ab99e23dad3e532f42025-08-20T03:28:21ZaraUniversity of Oran 2 Mohamed Ben AhmedAdvanced Research in Economics and Business Strategy Journal2716-94212773-38072025-06-016110.52919/arebus.v6i1.82Denominational inflation: Limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems – Tanzania as a case studyFrancis Stephen Nyonzo 0Research Associate– Fulbright exchange program at Michigan State University, Tanzania This study examines the impact of the limited divisibility of money on price setting and inflation in Tanzania, a country that relies heavily on cash transactions. Through analyzing bus fares and prices listed in both domestic and international online shopping platforms, the research highlights the economic implications of rounding prices to the nearest available currency denomination due to the absence of small denominations. The analysis reveals that ordinary bus users pay more due to price rounding to the nearest available denominations. Digital payment systems, on the other hand, reduce the need for adjustments that inflate costs. The study employed logistic regression to examine the relationship between the last digit of the price and the two different shopping malls. The findings suggest promoting digital payment systems to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy, reduce transaction costs, and ensure price accuracy, thereby proposing policy directions for Tanzania to transition from cash-based to digital payment systems. https://revue.univ-oran2.dz/Revue/AREBUS/index.php/AREBUS/article/view/82Denominational InflationPayment SystemsCurrencyInflationMonetaryPolicy
spellingShingle Francis Stephen Nyonzo
Denominational inflation: Limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems – Tanzania as a case study
Advanced Research in Economics and Business Strategy Journal
Denominational Inflation
Payment Systems
Currency
Inflation
Monetary
Policy
title Denominational inflation: Limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems – Tanzania as a case study
title_full Denominational inflation: Limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems – Tanzania as a case study
title_fullStr Denominational inflation: Limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems – Tanzania as a case study
title_full_unstemmed Denominational inflation: Limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems – Tanzania as a case study
title_short Denominational inflation: Limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems – Tanzania as a case study
title_sort denominational inflation limited currency divisibility in cash payment systems tanzania as a case study
topic Denominational Inflation
Payment Systems
Currency
Inflation
Monetary
Policy
url https://revue.univ-oran2.dz/Revue/AREBUS/index.php/AREBUS/article/view/82
work_keys_str_mv AT francisstephennyonzo denominationalinflationlimitedcurrencydivisibilityincashpaymentsystemstanzaniaasacasestudy