Why not authorize transactions over redundant buried
internet links? Why the need for specialized/proprietary satellite connections just do to credit cards?
Approving a large credit card transaction on faith seems like a pretty questionable move on the retailers' parts. Don't the CC companies have phone numbers they can use to manually approve transactions? Is it common for people to go into a gas station and buy a whole cartload of cigarettes? This seems like a crime that a little common sense would foil (get it? foil!).