BANK OF AMERICA AND MERRILL LYNCH: HOW DID A PRIVATE DEAL TURN INTO A FEDERAL BAILOUT?

At the end of 1996 the first prepaid cards were issued in Germany by the German banking sector (ZKA-GeldKarte-System) and tested in a pilot project. Since the successful test phase the number of prepaid GeldKarte cards has increased to 67.3 million. There are cards linked to accounts, where the GeldKarte chip is integrated into an ec card, as well as cards not linked to an account (“white cards”), which have only an electronic purse function. The potential of these more than 67 million chipcards with the GeldKarte feature has not yet greatly developed due to lack of acceptance from suppliers...