Ying Lei Toh is a senior economist in the Economic Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Ms. Toh joined the Bank in 2018, after earning her Ph.D. in Economics at Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), France. She also holds a M.Sc. in Economics from TSE and a B.A. (with Honors) in Economics from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research focuses on the digital economy---particularly, the issues of consumer privacy, data protection and cyber‐security---and the payments market.
Professional Journals and Books
- "Heterogeneous unbanked households: Which types of households are more (or less) likely to open a bank account?” with Fumiko Hayashi and Aditi Routh, Journal of Economics and Business, 2024, 129.
- “Privacy regulation and quality-enhancing innovation," with Yassine Lefouili and Leonardo Madio, Journal of Industrial Economics, 2024, 72: 662-684.
Economic Review Articles
- Addressing Traditional Credit Scores as a Barrier to Accessing Affordable Credit
Vol. 108, no. 3 - Prepaid Cards: An Inadequate Solution for Digital Payments Inclusion
Fourth Quarter 2021 - Mobile Banking Use and Consumer Readiness to Benefit from Faster Payments
with Fumiko Hayashi, First Quarter 2020
Other District Publications
- Has Access to Bank On-Certified Accounts Helped Ease Financial Barriers to Bank Account Ownership?
PSR Briefing, May 2025 - External LinkCombating Authorized Push Payment Scams in Fast Payment Systems
PSR Briefing, November 2024 - How Much Do Nonbank Transaction Accounts Improve Access to Digital Payments for Unbanked Households?
PSR Briefing, November 2023 - Promoting Payment Inclusion in the United States
PSR Briefing, October 2022 - Assessing the Case for Retail CBDCs: Central Banks’ Considerations
with Fumiko Hayashi, PSR Briefing, May 2022 - When Paying Bills, Low-Income Consumers Incur Higher Costs
PSR Briefing, November 2021 - How the COVID-19 Pandemic May Reshape the Digital Payments Landscape
with Thao Tran, PSR Briefing, June 2020 - Still on Trial? The Court’s Use of Economic Analysis in the American Express Case
with Jesse Leigh Maniff, PSR Briefing, April 2020 - Developments of QR Code-Based Mobile Payments in East Asia
with Fumiko Hayashi and Terri Bradford, PSR Briefing, June 2019
Research Working Papers
- Defining Households That Are Underserved in Digital Payment Services
with Claire Greene, Fumiko Hayashi, Alicia Lloro, Oz Shy, and Joanna Stavins, RWP 24-09 - Which Types of Unbanked Households Are More (or Less) Likely to Open a Bank Account?
with Fumiko Hayashi and Aditi Routh, RWP 23-08 - Prior Fraud Exposure and Precautionary Credit Market Behavior
with Nathan Blascak, RWP 22-14 - Privacy Regulation and Quality Investment
with Yassine Lefouili, RWP 19-05
Economic Bulletin
- Pandemic Relief Has Aided Low-Income Individuals: Evidence from Alternative Financial Services
with Thao Tran, December 2020