For given questions, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word in each gap.

E-CURRENCY

Have you noticed the spate of bank mergers 1) ....... reported in the financial pages?
The names change, smaller branches close and superfluous staff lose 2) ........ jobs. If you thought this was all 3) ....... the name of increased profit margins, think again. The bank themselves are engaged in a struggle 4) ........ their very survival. Their enemies? The Internet, of course. The Internet proved, in just a 5) ....... short years, that it can transform 6) ....... very way that commerce is conducted. Customers can pay for goods and services on-line, and settle 7) ...... accounts on the Internet. 8) ........ direct transfers could conceivably spell the end 9) ........ money as we know 10) ......... today. Cash, cheques and credit cards will give 11) ........ to e-currencies, some form of 'Internet only' money. What form will these new 'e-currencies' take? Perhaps some kind of credits or 12) ........ virtual money. Some Internet sites are already using a system called 'beenz' whereby you can earn credits, or 'beenz' by visiting participating sites, 13) ......... can then be used to purchase items on-line. Also, consumers will soon be able to download credit onto smartcards to be used to 14) ........ purchases in the real world. 15) ......... form such e-currencies ultimately take, the only thing we can be sure of 16) ........ that counting out coins for bus tickets will soon be a thing of the past.