Then came malls featuring petting zoos, beauty contests, and amusement park rides. But the inescapable truth of the shopping experience is that the transaction itself is too slow, sometimes frustrating, and not very high-tech.
Cash is a problem.
No one wants to keep going to the bank, even if cash can be obtained quickly from ATMs. Check writing can be annoying when so many forms of identification are required. Standing behind a check writer is like standing behind someone giving pennies to the bank teller. Credit cards overcome many of these shortcomings, but they, too, require that a check be written when it's time to pay the bill. Besides, charge cards have been around awhile and are showing their age.