When I was in grad school, people forecast a "cashless society." Grad students never have money, so the phrase seemed merely ironic to me. Now, it's much more real, here and around the world.

The DC Express (www.readexpress.com, 2/12/07, page 33) cites Federal Reserve figures showing that 49.5 billion checks were paid in the US in 1995, and 36.6 billion in 2003. Debit transactions rose from 8.3 billion to 15.6 billion; credit card transactions from 15.6 billion to 19 billion. Combined they rose from 33% to 43% of all non-cash payments, so the Fed is closing its check-processing centers and will be at 18 (from 45) by the end of 2008.
The Express (2/23/07, page 12) also reported that more and more vending machines make debit and credit transactions, boosting sales between 5% and 35%. Since ATMs generally dispense $20s, which vending machines do not take, this is a great market response to new demand from people who are totally comfortable with plastic.
Mark Jackson, VP at Cadbury's Beverages says, "...we're moving more and more to a cashless society." And those cards work world-wide. The prophets may deserve some honor on this one.