"Banks introduced the installment plan. The disappearance of cash and the coming of the credit card changed the shape of life in the United States."

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Credit or debit cards, for starters, are nothing short of shoppers' Novocain. Even in the age of digital purchases and virtual money, we still attach a special value to dirty paper with pictures of presidents on it. Handing some of that to a cashier simply hurts more than handing over a little sliver of plastic.

— Jeffrey Kluger