Patterns of Exclusion in the Electronic Economy

Introduction We live in a world which is increasingly electronic, particularly in terms of the global economy. However, the development of information and communication technology is also affecting personal finances. Far more people than ever before now have bank accounts, use cheque cards, credit cards, debit cards and 'smart' cards, and pay their bills by direct debit or standing order. Their accounts are not just with traditional banks, but with building societies and supermarkets, and they may be accessed by phone or computer. All these developments, which are included within the term 'the electronic economy', are likely to make money increasingly abstract and invisible, and to change the ways in which individuals and families control and allocate their resources. The development of the electronic economy raises questions for anyone who is interested in the access which women have to the financial resources of households, and to financial power and decision making. Employment is likely to be a crucial variable, since credit card companies use income level and employment status as measures of credit worthiness. Are some individuals, such as those who are not in paid work, or who are unemployed or retired, being excluded from the electronic economy? Does anxiety about new technologies lead some people to exclude themselves from the electronic economy? And what is the position of married women, whose right to a credit card may be dependent on the employment status and income of their husbands, and their spending subject to his scrutiny as the main card holder? The aim of this paper is to present some answers to these and other questions, drawing on new research which is to be published later this year (Pahl, 1999).