Given the advantages of electronic money, you might think that we would move quickly to the cashless society in which all payments are made electronically. 【C1】___, a true cashless society is probably not around the corner. Indeed, predictions have been【C2】for two decades but have not yet come to fruition. For example, Business Week predicted in 1975 that electronic means of payment would soon “revolutionize the very【C3】of money itself,” only to【C4】itself several years later. Why has the movement to a cashless society been so【C5】___in coming?

Although electronic means of payment may be more efficient than a payments system based on paper, several factors work【C6】___the disappearance of the paper system. First, it is very 【C7】to set up the computer, card reader, and telecommunications networks necessary to make electronic money the【C8】form of payment. Second, paper checks have the advantage that they【C9】receipts, something that many consumers are unwilling to【C10】. Third, the use of paper checks gives consumers several days of “float”—it takes several days【C11】a check is cashed and funds are【C12】from the issuer’ s account, which means that the writer of the check can earn interest on the funds in the meantime. 【C13】___electronic payments are immediate, they eliminate the float for the consumer.

Fourth, electronic means of payment may【C14】___security and privacy concerns. We often hear media reports that an unauthorized hacker has been able to access a computer database and to alter information【C15】there. The fact that this is not an【C16】occurrence means that dishonest persons might be able to access bank accounts in electronic payments systems and【C17】from someone else’ s accounts. The【C18】of this type of fraud is no easy task, and a new field of computer science is developing to【C19】security issues. A further concern is that the use of electronic means of payment leaves an electronic【C20】___that contains a large amount of personal data. There are concerns that government, employers, and marketers might be able to access these data, thereby violating our privacy.

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