>which more accurately should be called the bank-payments society... is a utopia where money cannot leave – or even exist – outside the banking system, but can only be transferred from bank to bank

Wow. That is a great point that, honestly, never even crossed my mind. When you think about it from this perspective it becomes rather unsettling. I have, and still do I suppose, loved the idea of a cashless society because of its convenience, but this makes me feel very conflicted now. What an insane idea actually ...