Computers and Banking: Electronic Funds Transfer Systems and Public Policy(Applications of Modern Technology in Business)

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) systems include a wide range of computer-based payment systems and sources that substitute electronic and digital transfers for movements of cash and paper checks. A few years ago some people were predict- ing that EFT would replace paper money and coins entirely and that we would soon be a "checkless" and' 'cashless" society. Such sweeping changes have not occurred, but a slower evolution is clearly underway. Although checks, cur- rency, and coin are likely to be here for many years to come, EFT is becoming an established part of our worldwide payment transfer system, and the implications and consequences of this technology are real. They include: * Alterations in personal finance and in the process of purchasing and paying for consumer goods and services. * Changes in the structure of financial and retail organizations and their mode of interaction in the marketplace. * Modifications in the flow of funds in our society and in the interactions among economic institutions. * Alterations in the prospects for invasion of personal privacy, perpetration of fraud and theft, and violation of antitrust regulations. * Changes in the regulatory and competitive balance among the numerous financial institutions in the United States. Such alterations foretell important impacts on people and society. Benefits are forthcoming, but the costs will also be real.

Table of Contents:
I * Introduction.- 1 * EFT as a Case of Technology and Public Policy.- II * Eft Technology.- 2 * Outlook for EFT Technology.- 3 * Status of EFT: An Assessment of Services and a Review of EFT in the Fifty States.- III * Impact On Society.- 4 * EFT and the Consumer: An Agenda for Research.- 5 * More Inequality: An Exploration of Potential Impacts of EFT on Stratification in American Society.- 6 * EFT, Privacy, and the Public Good.- 7 * Vulnerabilities of EFT Systems to Intentionally Caused Losses.- IV * Economic Impact.- 8 * Costs of the Current U.S. Payments System.- 9 * An Overview of the Economic Characteristics of Electronic Funds Transfer Systems.- 10 * National Economic and Monetary Impacts of EFT.- V * Eft Regulation and Control.- 11 * Problems and Policies in Making EFT Available to the Public.- 12 * Public Protection and Education Under EFT.- 13 * Regulatory and Operational Issues in EFT.- VI * Monitoring and Evaluating Eft Systems.- 14 * Electronic Funds Transfer as a Subject of Study in Technology, Society, and Public Policy.- 15 * The Social and Institutional Meanings of Electronic Funds Transfer Systems..- 16 * EFT and the Process of Change.- 17 * Using Micromodels in EFT Analysis.- 18 * Monitoring EFT in Evolution.- VII * Conclusion.- 19 * An Agenda for EFT Research.- Appendixes.- A * Rank Order Listing of Research Suggestions at the Exploratory Workshop.- B * Results of the Survey of Conference Participants on EFT Research Priorities.- C * List of Participants at the Workshop and the Conference on EFT Research and Public Policy.- * About the Editors.- * About the Authors.