Checks allowed users to make payments for small as well as very large amounts at any time of the day, without needing to visit a banking office to obtain cash. Checks also allowed users to pay bills without visiting physical locations designated by service providers such as utility companies and other major billers. Thus checks offered more choices regarding the time and location for making payments and, at the same time, reduced the risk of theft and loss associated with cash payments. Ironically, innovations such as automated teller machines, which are not payment instruments but delivery mechanisms for cash, may well have supported the use of cash relative to checks or newer forms of electronic payments. With the latest surge in deployments, ATMs seem now to be located on nearly every street corner.
Credit cards offer another interesting example.
Credit cards began more than 75 years ago as store charge cards. These cards received a boost in the 1960s with the creation of branded bank cards and have since grown in popularity. The cards can be used on a 24-hour basis. Initially, the locations where they could be used were limited, but these have grown significantly along with overall credit card use in recent years. Consumers and merchants have now widely adopted credit cards to make payments arising from electronic commerce.