Cashless, but Not Classless

On both sides of the Atlantic, the fast expansion of credit-card systems is paving the way for what may some day be a cashless society. But it won't be a classless society--at least in Europe. Beginning next month, a favored few will be able to flash what promises to be the most patrician card of them all: a plastic ducat bearing the famed five-arrow emblem of the House of Rothschild and the blue-and-yellow racing colors of Guy Edouard Alphonse Paul de Rothschild, 57, head of the Paris branch of the family and of the grande dame of French banks, Rothschild Freres.

Though the Rothschild Freres cards are the first to be issued by a European bank, they are hardly the thing for the Europe-on-$5-a-day set. They will be honored at only about 120 spots in Paris and resorts in the south of France, including airline offices, the best hotels, restaurants, fashion houses and--for those who like to buy their Rolls-Royces or Mercedes on impulse--prestige auto dealers. What's more, only the elite with Rothschild bank accounts will be eligible for the cards, and those accounts are rather hard to get. To be accepted, Rothschild clients must be personally recommended by a Rothschild family member or survive a cold-eyed interview in the bank's paneled, 19th century-style Paris offices--and keep a minimum balance of $50,000.

Given the credentials of Rothschild's clientele, it is surprising that the bank is playing the card game at all. It will charge no fee for the service, and only a few hundred cards will be issued; that hardly compares with such plebian powers as the Diners' Club, which has more than 30,000 holders in France.

Actually, Rothschild Freres was moved more by pique than profit. It seems that some Paris stores have lately been nervy enough to question big checks drawn on Rothschild accounts. The bank hopes that the cards will end what one irritated Rothschild officer described as those nasty incidents that "occur from time to time, when a merchant insists on calling us before he accepts payment by check. It has proved embarrassing for us and for our clients."

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