American consumers use checks for three of every five noncash payments, according to the Federal Reserve.

The most recently completed payments study (released in late 2010) revealed that more than three-quarters of noncash payments in America were done electronically.

A marketing consultant with 20 years' experience in high-tech businesses, Mr. Jamar has taken noncash payment to the next level by incorporating it into his business model.

And while many Americans still pay monthly gas, electric and credit card bills by check, Europeans have long used automatic bank transfers, and such noncash payment activity will likely increase.

Real Wages Drop Sharply Since 1981 alone, the study finds, the real wages of Nicaraguan workers -the actual buying power of workers' salaries, excluding noncash payments in food or other goods - have plummeted by more than 92 percent.