Several years ago there was an attempt to promote a form of pre-paid credit card that could have actually replaced cash for the masses. Kind of a hybrid debit/credit card. I guess the current debit card has replaced that device. In the now defunct plan, a person was issued a card by their bank and there were recharging stations everywhere that one could recharge their card out of their bank account. A desktop device to connect to your home computer was to be made available so you could recharge your card from home, also. This card did not expose any bank account information. If one lost their card, their loss would have been limited to whatever balance was on the card, not their entire bank account. I saw some of these recharging stations in places like Wendy's Restaurant and Walmart in the Atlanta area when it was in use. I suppose the current debit card has replaced the cash card.