When Paying Fees Hurts: Why Investors Favour Commissions Nobel Prize–winning behavioural economist Richard Thaler showed that people spend far more when the payment feels painless — like using a credit card instead of cash. The “pain of paying” is strong when money leaves your hand, but much weaker when the cost is hidden or delayed. The salience also drops because the price of a ticket gets buried among dozens of items in the credit-card bill. A ₹10,000 ticket feels expensive on its own, but as part of an ₹80,000 bill it seems acceptable. This simple insight explains why investors resist ...