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Credit cards serve as the training wheels for digital currency
During a political season where change reigns, financial institutions are turning away from coins and searching for the successor to the dollar bill. Of course there's the Amero, a currency for the entirety of North America to rival the powerful Euro. But that, they argue, is not where the money is. The ideal solution is if the U.S. government quits minting coins and bills and instead requires citizens to rely solely on digital transactions. Instead of spending money on metals and valuable resources required to print currency, the U.S. Treasury would mint ones and zeroes, imitating the digital society that has consumed the country. A government-issued personal electronic currency (PEC) system for every American would dramatically change the way society functions and the national marketplace. Citizens would carry one identificationcard that essentially doubles as a personal finance account. It's arguable that Hasbro Inc., the creator of the popular board game Monopoly, has foreshadowed the market by switching from paper to digital two years ago. "...People are carrying less cash than they did 10 years ago and prefer to use a card to buy things," said Chris Weatherhead, a Parker Brothers spokesman, in 2006. "...Monopoly reflectsthe changing nature of society and the advancement of technology." The chief executive of Visa Europe, Peter Ayliffe, forecasted last year that by 2012 using credit and debit cards would be cheaper and more convenient that transactions with cash. Mr. Ayliffe warned that retailers could eventually start surcharging customers if they choose to purchase goods with cash because of a greater processing cost, according to an article in London's The Independent, Liz Moyer, a writer for Forbes, echoed Mr. Ayliffe's comments in an article she wrote last year. "The $100 bill exists," she said, "But many retailers won't accept it. The $50 is heading in that direction, too, and there are periodic cries for the elimination of the lowly, yet annoying, penny." Steve Watson, a writer for www. infowars.net, recently said that the monetary evolution will undoubtedly begin sooner if credit cards companies have their way. Mastercard is aiming a new card toward youth "designed to get children used to the fact that cash is obsolete and their money, and the amount they are allowed to spend is controlled by someone else who also profitsfrom their spending." The transition from coin to chip continues on college campuses where students use ID cards to pay or food and drink, to rent library books, provide identification,record attendance and gain access to buildings - all on the same card. Essentially, there is little need for cash at modern universities. For the entire country to transfer to a one-card system, legislation would need to change. Drivers licenses and identificationcards are currently issued by individual states. An effective credit system combined with identificationwould call for massive change in the existing infrastructure of legal credentials. The Real ID act is an early attempt at solving that nation-wide issue, providing a nationally-recognized identificationcard that would pave the way for future technology. If all Americans were required to carry one standard technology with them the framework would be in place to provide updates and requirements as needed. Some are skeptical of a cashless society, though, pointing toward biblical end-times prophecy. Rev. Glenn Guest, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Danielsville, Georgia, recently authored a book titled "Steps Toward the Mark of the Beast." In an interview with the Athens Banner-Herald he stated that the onslaught of a cashless society is inevitable. "Within the next fiveto 10 years, we won't use cash or checks, and it may come sooner," he said. "In a system like this, it's possible to control everyone by controlling their finances. If all our money is just zeroes and ones in a computer, we'll have to get permission to use our own money. If those who control the money don't like someone, they can deny their purchases, making them an economic non-entity." Last year Wal-Mart made the decision to offer prepaid payment cards, focusing on low-income customers and the 40 to 80 million people in the United States who lack a bank account. The card would further eliminate cash from its store systems. Today consumers wouldn't think twice about living off of a credit card and completing transactions digitally. But in 1965 it was a rare concept. That year Bank of America hired a secretary named Ann Foley to live off nothing but a credit card for an entire month, according to Time Magazine. The stunt was to prove the effectiveness of the company's own card. Apparently, the only inconveniences Foley involved having to pass up cabs, toll roads and soft drink machines. Today cabs in New York City accept cards, as do many new vending machines. Toll roads have their own separate wireless transfer system. The question is not if America can survive without traditional physical money, but when the transition will occur. Citizens facing the pros and cons of a completely-digital society review many of the same concerns connected to digital transactions completed via credit card. The credit card, in essence, has proven to be America's training wheels for the real digital revolution yet to come. Electronic payments' automatic traceable and searchable record prompts question of concern pitting the ease and speed of such transactions against security in an age of computer hackers and online dependency. Advocates of the digital future may point to the success of the credit card system as proof that such an advanced network can flourish. Using history as a witness, consumers have flocked toward financial ease and will likely continue to do so.
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