Well now you've dragged Australia into it I have to say that recent visits to the US have surprised me in how far electronic payments have come in Australia. Most people including those on welfare have bank accounts as almost all government payments are made into bank accounts.
Shopping for groceries etc is now about 80% cashless with either credit or EFTPOS cards being used. PIN's have been used for EFTPOS transactions for years but Credit Cards are now offering either signature or PIN options for transactions.
Even Taxis in capital cities have mobile EFTPOS units so you can use your card for that. I found the US a bit behind in that regard as up until my most recent visit in 2008 no cabs that I had travelled in had any way of paying that wasn't cash.
We are getting a big push from Mastercard and Visa for getting Debit cards which access your bank account funds rather than using someone elses money.
As for broadband well we are royally screwed by our telcos and ISP's who put ridiculous caps on monthly usage and punative overage fees if you happen to use a bit more than your pre-paid limit.
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