It is sad to hear all the whining about credit cards from the merchants! Don't they realize that many sales would be lost if people couldn't (or wouldn't) use their cc? As noted above, customers would have to carry large amounts of cash to shop and many who would whip out a cc would think a lot longer before paying cash. In my youth, people either paid cash or had an account at a store. Can you imagine the costs incurred carrying accounts receivable?