There is no compelling need for it. That doesn't mean there never will be widespread demand for such cards, he says. Public telephones, for instance, accept a wide range of alternative payments. Likewise, on many college campuses, students purchase their cafeteria food, books, and even midnight grub at nearby pizza parlors using smart cards. Merchants, in fact, favor digital money over coins, Webster says.
Coins are a pain in the neck.
Still, those small denominations can add up to big bucks. After collecting them from different zones each day, employees lug the coins to a bank for counting, says Douglas McCobb, deputy director of transportation and transit for the city. Not all banks, however, take coins, notes John Hall, spokesman for the American Bankers Association in Washington. A coin counter is a very expensive piece of equipment, he says. It takes a significant amount of time and labor to monitor it and make sure the machine doesn't jam.