Years ago, in the early 80's long before Homeland INSecurity, we went to the local airport and tried to pay for an airline ticket with cash. They refused to accept it until we gave them divers' licenses, social security numbers, address, and proof we had withdrawn the exact amount from our bank.

We also had a bank refuse cash for payment of a utility bill in CT. THAT was the utility company's doing and they changed their policy back to accepting cash after a month of protest from thier customers. I remember the banker tleling me, then, in probably 1989, we'd all be using plastic bankcards someday to pay for everything. Boy did he piss me off!:-)