here once only cash was king, quick service restaurants, parking meters, even vending machines, now accept credit and debit cards for payment. More merchant venues recognize the importance of this growing market opportunity of micropayment transactions, and more consumers come to expect the convenience of paying with their cards.

Vending in particular is grabbing attention as an emerging market. It's a $25 billion a year industry by some estimates, so why shouldn't electronic payments have a piece of the pie? In research and consulting firm TowerGroup's 2004 report "Making Sense From Cents: Trends in the Rebirth of Electronic Micropayments" analyst Edward Kountz estimated that the overall market for payment transactions of less than $5 is tremendous: $1.32 trillion.

That's not to say every transaction would be electronic; cash is still preferred for small dollar amounts. However, recent data reported by the Federal Reserve ("The 2004 Federal Reserve Payments Study"), show there were 13.8 billion more electronic payments in 2003 than in 2000. It's a segment growing 13.2% annually.

Under the headline "Spare the Change," "Newsweek" recently reported on vending technology provider USA Technologies' e-Port cashless payment technology. Vending businesses can install the solution in new or existing terminals. The product not only adds another payment method, it enables owners to monitor vending machines over the Internet so that they know when to restock items or if a malfunction occurs.

In reviewing more than 1 million transactions at its customers' vending machines, USA Technologies found that shoppers paying for items with plastic spend 75% more than when using cash.

Vending trade group, National Automated Merchandising Association (NAMA), predicts that by 2009, 50% of vending machines in the United States will accept card payments. NAMA calls vending "the last cashless frontier," AMonline.com reported.

Other companies also see the potential. Transaction Network Services Inc. bought U.S. Wireless Data's vending program in 2004 and recently partnered with Pepsi Cola to bring a cashless payment option to Pepsi's vending machines in the United States. Paymentech LP is processing credit and debit transactions for all Pepsi-Cola North America vending machines equipped to accept card payments.