more, ＂ says Adan Abokor, a democracy activist. ＂I haven't seen cash for a long time. Almost every merchant, even hawker (小贩) on the street, accepts payment by cellphone. There's no waiting for it and no counting of cash.＂

　　The system is impressively simple and secure. Purchases are made by dialing a three-digit number, entering a four-digit PIN, and then entering the retailer's payment number and the amount of money. Both customers and merchants receive text messages to confirm the payment.

　　Clearing up cash payments has several advantages as well. The printing and handling of money is expensive. Cash payments can be anonymous and hard to track criminal activities to be conducted in secret. Many governments favor reducing cash dealings in order to better monitor and understand the activities of their citizens. The Swedish government has been discussing the removing of cash since 2010.

　　However, some people doubt what members of a cashless society do when the power goes off. Do they choose to barter (物物交换) and rob? Do they sit at home and wait? What happens to people who rely on their cellphones to process money dealings when cell service and the Internet are interrupted? A world affected by terrorism and increasingly violent weather may not yet be ready to abandon currency.＂ Ironically, the day after the largest bank in Norway, DNB, proposed ending all cash dealings, I went to my local grocery store and when I tried to pay by phone, I was told that I needed to go to the ATM to get cash because the system was broken, ＂ said an interviewee.

　　Other people fear that electronic payments may create security and fraud risks and enable dealings to be tracked and reported.

　　Privacy, security and convenience are all important factors in the adoption of electronic payment technology. New technologies which balance and address these factors may enable people to remove cash.

　　Is Cash Becoming Outdated?

Passage outline Supporting details An example of electronic payments Barkhad Dahir claims that he can almost purchase 1. ________ he needs by using his mobile phone. Reasons for the 2. ________ for electronic payments • They can be more 3. ________ without waiting in line or counting the cash, whose characteristics include 4. ________ and simplicity.

• They reduce the cost of printing money and allow the government to 5. ________ cash activities.