Your Invisible Friend

So long, old friend!

Photo credit: MaxPayne473

Plastic? We don't need no stinkin' plastic! All we need is to be wired into a vast electronic financial holonet that knows everything about you, tracks your every move, and silently charges your credit account without you having to lift a finger when you buy something (except to lift the shopping bags on the way out). 

That last bit is the credit card-free future predicted by the head of BarclayCard; the rest is already here, just waiting to merge, become sentient ... and rule the world.