In 2005 for the first time ever, plastic purchases topped cash purchases. Are we heading for a cashless society where credit cards replace cash altogether?

If it's up to the card companies, the answer is an unqualified yes. As consumers get more savvy about handling credit cards and interest, the issuing companies for credit cards are finding their profits from lending money shrinking. In defense, they're trying to cash in by encouraging consumers to use their credit cards for more and more transactions. The current campaign among most of the major credit card companies is encouraging 'small change' transactions, for which merchants end up paying 1-2% processing fees to the company. These 'micropayments' are expected to top