Carding and Inflation: How Digital Wind Impacts the Economic Sea

[Professor]

Abstract: Unexpected currents are emerging in the modern economy, subtly but noticeably altering its landscape. One such current is the large-scale redistribution of funds through carding schemes. This article proposes to look at this phenomenon not from a position of struggle, but through the prism of calm observation, to see how these digital flows gently but persistently influence consumer price formation and overall liquidity, like the wind shifting the sails of many ships in the market sea.

Introduction: A New Pattern in the Economic Fabric​

Carding, which has grown from isolated incidents into an entire ecosystem, has become an integral part of the digital landscape. Its annual turnover is measured in tens of billions of dollars, attracting the attention of not only criminologists but also economists. This phenomenon can be viewed as a special form of redistribution, weaving its threads into the overall economic fabric, creating new, sometimes unexpected patterns. Let's calmly follow these threads.

1. The Journey of Digital Capital: From One Point to Another​

The funds involved in this process undergo an interesting journey, passing through several stages.

1.1. The Beginning of the Journey: Channel Change.
Funds are gently transferred from the accounts of their rightful owners. At this stage, an immediate reversal of the financial flow occurs: purchasing power shifts from one channel to another. For the original owners, this often becomes a reason to reconsider their spending, and for financial institutions, a moment to adjust their reserves.

1.2. Intermediate Stops: Digital Havens.
Along the way, capital often takes on new forms that are more convenient for further movement:

• Cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins, are becoming a kind of universal language for fast international transfers.
• Digital vouchers and gift cards act as a convenient and popular "currency" in certain circles.
• Paying for goods at major retailers allows funds to naturally return to legitimate trade, albeit through new, sometimes anonymous, channels.

1.3. Route Finale: Integration into New Streams.
The end point is the transformation back into familiar money or material goods through:

• Crypto exchanges or over-the-counter transactions.
• Services of private individuals offering asset conversion.
• Purchase and subsequent resale of goods that are in stable demand.

The essence of the process: Capital doesn't disappear. It flows smoothly from one sector of the economy to another, sometimes changing form, but maintaining its ability to serve as a medium of exchange and payment.

2. Impact on Prices: Ripple Effect​

This redistribution creates subtle but persistent ripples on the surface of consumer prices.

2.1. Distribution of Operating Costs.
Financial institutions and payment systems, seeking to maintain stability and trust, invest in sophisticated security systems, transaction analysis, and scoring. These investments are part of their operating expenses.

• A logical consequence is that part of these costs are taken into account in the acquiring tariffs for retail enterprises.
• Merchants, in turn, include these costs, along with rent, logistics, and salaries, in the pricing structure of goods and services. Thus, through the pricing mechanism, the costs of maintaining security in the digital environment are smoothly distributed among all market participants.

2.2. Specific demand for certain goods.
Goods that are frequently used for final conversion of funds (premium electronics, certain categories of household appliances, watches) experience additional, stable demand. This demand, not directly related to their utilitarian consumer properties, can have a supporting effect on their market price and turnover.

2.3. Issue for monetary policy.
For central banks that monitor money supply aggregates (M0, M1, M2), an interesting accounting problem exists. Funds "in transit" in the described digital circuits can complicate the accurate assessment of the real liquidity available to the legal production sector and households.

3. An unexpected role in maintaining circulation​

Under certain conditions, these processes can play the role of an additional, informal mechanism for the circulation of payment instruments.

• Creation of micro-opportunities. The infrastructure associated with exchange and withdrawal of funds creates a unique market for one-time services and micro-tasks. For some people, this becomes a source of quick, albeit intermittent, income, which is immediately used to meet everyday needs, supporting local consumer demand.
• Flows between sectors. Capital, having passed through digital assets, can partially return to the legitimate economy through payments for hosting, advertising, logistics, or design services. This creates a kind of bridge through which funds flow between different parts of the economic organism.
• Support for new assets. Active use of certain cryptoassets for value transfer increases their liquidity and market recognition, facilitating their integration into the broader financial context.

It is important to note that this circulation exists in parallel with traditional, regulated channels and has its own logic and dynamics.

4. Broad context for the financial world​

• Risk Management and Pricing. For banks, assessing and managing operational risks associated with the digital environment is becoming an important component of financial modeling, which is reflected in their product policies.
• International correlations. Because flows are cross-border, they create subtle, elusive connections between financial markets and consumer sectors in different countries.
• The evolution of financial services. The constant advancement in this area serves as an indirect incentive for traditional institutions to develop more convenient, faster, and more secure services, which can ultimately benefit all users.

Conclusion: Part of a complex puzzle​

This phenomenon is not an isolated one, but one of many forces shaping modern economic reality. Carding schemes, with their scale and complexity, have become a kind of "digital wind" that:

1. It has a soft impact on the cost structure and, consequently, on final prices, distributing the costs of digital security.
2. Creates parallel capital flow circuits that, in some situations, can act as additional sources of liquidity for individual market segments.
3. Raises interesting questions for regulators and economists regarding money supply measurement and risk management in the digital age.

Understanding these interconnections allows us to see the economy as a living, adaptive organism, where even the most subtle processes are reflected in the overall balance. This perspective helps us not fight the wind, but rather understand its direction and adjust it accordingly, creating a more stable and harmonious economic environment for all participants.