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.

【C19】