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To all, CSTR dropped, in part, because on page 93 of the current issue of Forbes (Dec. 29, 1997), Fidelities' Neal Miller guesses that we are going to a cashless society. Also the Annual edition of the Economist magazine predicts coins will start to become obsolete in 1998, as Visa and others began mailing debit cards to customers. A debit card taps into your own bank account money rather than a credit line. In theory a debit card would eliminate the need for cash, as you could buy say a candy bar by merely swiping your debit card in an electronic device: no coins involved. Of course these theories are very speculative and may not happen at all. Also, who is going to electronically link all vending machines to a computer system? Who knows what will happen? My own experience with such GURU predictions is that more times than not these GURU's can't think straight and turn out to be flat out wrong! Remember when VCRs were going to make movie theatres obsolete? Well there is a building boom going on in movie theatres today! Remember when digital watches were going to make analogue watches obsolete? Well today nearly all shiney new watches are analogue and you can hardly even find a digital watch for sale anywhere! Personally I don't want to be charged for access to my own money, which is what a debit card would do. Do you think every Taco Bell (a great coin generator, along with all the fast food chains) well be electronically equipped soon for debit cards? How so, you never even see a Taco Bell patron use a credit card (and credit cards already exist)? So, to me, there you have it. If a cashless society emerges soon, bye-bye CSTR. If a cashless society doesn't emerge soon, CSTR is headed for the moon. Personnaly, my guess (and it is just a guess), is that debit cards are way off into the future and ergo CSTR is headed for the moon!!! |
