Well, it looks like toy maker Hasbro got the memo about moving to electronic payments. The company now offers an electronic banking version of the classic board game Monopoly. I saw a commercial for the souped up game only recently and couldn't resist writing about it.

So what does the e-banking version of Monopoly offer? Instead of fumbling around for "cash" to pay for things in the game like property, hotels, etc., players can simply swipe their "debit card" and be on their way. Hey, isn't that the same argument that banks and merchants use to make consumers drop cash in favor of plastic in the real world?

And a debit card? Sounds like Hasbro has been following the same consumer payments research that has been filling my inbox for months about how debit is seeing an explosion in use at the point of sale.

So financially savvy game players can say good-bye to the colorful "Monopoly money" that has become a part of the American lexicon. I don't know though. Debit cards seem so impersonal as a means for taking money from your friends and family. Well, it will certainly more quickly lead to the inevitable Monopoly-related arguments. Less suspense that way.

As a side note, the e-banking version of Monopoly also comes with more "up-to-date" game pieces: a space shuttle, flat panel TV and a Segue, among others. But give me the old fashioned race car and the little dog any day. The cash too! There's just something more fun about watching those small stacks of pink, white, blue, green and yellow pile up (or down) with the flow of the game. Well, that's progress for you.

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