The Smart Money Is On A Cashless Society
          
          
               Another element of data encryption is the use of
          plastic money.  The check card is already heavily in
          use in many parts of the country, deducting
          transactions from one's checking account and avoiding
          the problems of identification required for cashing a
          paper check.  The plastic check card is practical for
          small transactions, and many gasoline pumps already
          accept both check card and credit card transactions
          without the need for human intervention.
               The encryption becomes important to protect the
          integrity of the system, prevent counterfeiting, and
          limit the value of a stolen card to a thief.
               From these simple uses of the check card, the next
          steps may occur faster than most people realize. 
          Junior is away at college, and makes the traditional
          call home for money.  Mom isn't worried about not
          having any cash because she transfers the money from
          her bank account to his bank account using her super-
          smart plastic card and a hand-held device.
               International use of these check cards is as
          simple as the international use of credit cards.  
          Already one can use a card through automatic teller
          machine systems in dozens of countries to obtain cash
          or make purchases, with the amount being automatically
          converted into the appropriate currency.  And because
          the settlements between banks are on a wholesale basis
          for the total transactions of the day, the cost of
          exchange is far more favorable to the customer than
          going into a currency exchange to convert banknotes
          from one currency to another.
               In Swindon, England, National Westminster Bank is
          testing a smart card called Mondex.  Working with
          Midland Bank and British Telecom, NatWest has made
          Mondex exactly equivalent to cash, as it does not need
          a PIN (personal identification number).  Among the
          points the bank will want to test are whether the cards
          are safe against computer chip fraudsters and how much
          people will use them, particularly for low-cost
          transactions in small shops.
               The banks are eager to develop the use of plastic
          money because of the huge savings in manpower and
          security if cash transactions become the exception
          rather than the norm.  But there's a long way to go
          before piggy banks change from oval to rectangular.
               While everybody is talking about this technology
          trend, few are relating it to the death of the income
          tax.  But when accounts can be in a bank in any tax
          haven in the world, with purchases made conveniently
          anywhere else in the world, the ability of government's
          to monitor the volume of such transactions is extremely
          limited, and the acquired data of little value in the
          enforcement of tax laws.