Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 25, 1993                   TAG: 9312240162
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

VISA HOPES TO MOVE US FURTHER INTO THE CASHLESS

The card - which will be launched on a trial basis next year and available nationwide in 1995 - will work like this:

Customers decide how much they want to spend with the disposable credit card - say $100 or $500 or $1,000 - then buy the card for that amount, most likely from a participating bank.

Once in hand, the card can be used to withdraw money in the local currency at any of more than 160,000 automatic-teller machines in 65 countries.

Each time you use the card, its value is automatically reduced until the card is used up. Then you throw it away and, Visa hopes, buy a new one.

Initially, the cards will be used at bank ATMs. But Visa hopes to expand the program to include retailer point-of-sale terminals, as credit cards can be used now.

Who will want this card? Visa hopes to appeal to a particular consumer who now uses traveler's checks: business travelers and frequent vacationers who like to separate the money they spend on business trips or vacations from their other funds.

Companies might like these cards for employees who are traveling, or staying home but spending money on company business. In this way, the company can easily control the cash flow.