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This paper investigates whether crime impacts the probability of bank card acceptance. We build an indicator composed of theft variables concerning primarily both consumers and merchants. We use a document published by the Home Office, the “état 4001”, to associate to each merchant the crime level of his department. We find that a high level of financial crime discourages card acceptance, while a high level of violent crime fosters it. The first effect interpreted to be the result of adverse selection, while the second effect results from a partial interna-lization of risks borne by consumers.Classification JEL : E4.