I too have noticed a growing trend in the use of electronic money for a wide range of transactions. For example. I have an ATM card that was issued on my checking account. With it, I can make purchases at any place displaying the Interlink symbol. This includes gas stations, fast food places, and a lot of common stores such as the Good Guys, Circuit City, etc. Personally, I find this way of doing business a lot more conveinent than carrying cash money. No large demoninations to worry about, and if you are robbed, they have to crack your PIN to use the card. If they use a portabel reader, you could be screwed. But, in most cases you would have time to call customer service and cancel the card. I love progress. Jeremy Smith jersmit@eis.calstate.edu -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.2 mQCNAixVlqsAAAEEAMlqS9nz+2dADwxwOglWVJk7xugtC9SMQX6rkJiv/0wkOhSB RSQcUL5bVfRKJGa4YrnHefmBZaTSvwtFmSUCSqm4yN9n258xda+niz6pJwPDaTIX 7Gr1V8Xr9/J7K3grm8H1VCXJjKTUVt+zPns5KS4K+tQZgdcPQJefZlD5h/jTAAUV tCdKZXJlbXkgU21pdGggPGplcnNtaXRAZWlzLmNhbHN0YXRlLmVkdT4= =J0/4 -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----