Electronic banking goes to market

Online transaction systems, already menacing automatic teller machines, are bringing a cashless society closer by infiltrating stores, restaurants and gas stations. POS debit systems enable people to acquire cash at any of these outlets. These POS systems connect three businesses: the retailer, a switching company through which the transaction is routed, and the bank. Retailers are buying, installing and maintaining their own POS systems without looking to the banks for subsidies. The current arrangements over operating expenses are closely guarded secrets, but observers agree that POS fees are lower than those charged on ATM networks. Retailers are not going to want to pay large fees on what they consider merely a substitute for cash and checks.<>