The rise and fall of the smartcard

The benefits of smartcards to big business - especially banks - are well known. Processing cash is expensive and having large sums of currency lying around is a security hazard. But all the recent hype surrounding ecash has drowned out the small voice of the average consumer.

Most people budget by taking a fixed amount of money regularly out of a cashpoint, and making sure that it lasts a fixed length of time. But with automatic debits, people will find no intermediary between them and their money - major debts could easily be incurred before we learn to forge new budgeting habits.

And what about the social impact of the proposed single ID card, which could combine someone's tax and welfare history with their medical profile? Big businesses are yearning to brand the cards and offer loyalty software along with it. Privacy issues aside, there are people who have opted out of the system and would rather live on charity than be registered on state files. Are they to be banned from buying petrol or booking a train ticket?

The inaccurate and imprecise information system we are so keen to overhaul is good for one thing, at least: including everybody, if only by accident.

It would be tragic if the drive for controlled efficiency and profitability left a larger, more deprived underclass in its wake.