The rise of check cards and normalizing paying for everything on plastic was a big tipping point. There's even a Monopoly game that uses electronic cards these days. It lets activity tracking run rampant and of course the banks get to skim a fee off everything.
Franky I see it as having nothing to do with fiscal responsibility (can't overspend the cash on hand) and more just a way to funnel more to those with means than anything. It's funny how cash advances on cards charge a higher rate than purchases despite neither offering a security interest to the card issuer.