Plastic money is the name given to all types of plastic money, which are used in place of cash. There are different names for these cards but in general they have two main purposes: to enable people to obtain cash; or to make payments without using cash or cheques.
Banks now make available to their customers a single card which does three things: it guarantees cheques; it obtains cash from automatic machines, and it pays for goods. The fourth use of the plastic card is to give customers credit when they purchase goods or services.
Credit cards are issued by credit card companies such as Access, MasterCard, Visa, American Express. Some others are owned by banks. There are debit cards and credit cards.
The latest development of the plastic money is the Smart Card.
Cash dispenser, automatic teller machine, are some of the names given to machines from which customers can withdraw money from their bank accounts, using their cash cards. They can do this at any branch of their bank and the branches of other banks that are linked to their bank.
With the cash card, customers also receive a PIN or a personal identification number which they should memorize. When using the dispenser, customers insert their card and key the PIN number in it. By following a clear set of instructions which appear on video screen, they can withdraw cash up to a certain limit, check the balance of their account or deposit money.