In the end, despite optimistic predictions, this first generation of e-money products was not widely adopted in the United States. In general, stored-value cards have been successful in closed payment systems, where e-money was the primary payment instrument accepted, and have failed in open payment systems, where competing instruments were readily available.
Examples of closed system successes include mass transit systems, college campuses, and military bases. Two well-publicized open system e-money experiments that fizzled (one at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the other on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1997 and 1998) accepted e-money at only limited locations and suffered operational difficulties. Limited locations discouraged consumer use, while operational difficulties discouraged merchant use.