Cashless Society1

Cashless Society One article that caught my attention recently was one presented in the November 21, 1998 issue of The Economist. The article was about a cashless society and how well alternative forms of tender were catching on. According to the article, some forms of the "smart card" haven't caught on as well as expected. Smart cards have information embedded in them, essentially allowing a consumer to purchase things quickly and conveniently. It was the hope that …

…cards utilize only on a small range of readers. For example, a smart card for parking meters in Boston would not work for ones in New York. And since local governments control those areas of jurisdiction, it has to take a national effort to make it work. This means that the U.S. government must implement and lead the way. When this happens, then we will truly see the fall of paper and coin money.