“When Peter Kight, a former college decathlete, began managing health clubs in Texas in the late 1970s, he was re-pulsed by the high-pressure sales tactics gyms used to keep revenues flowing. Realizing that many new members drop out after a few months, clubs leaned on recruits to pay a full year’s fees up front. Why, asked Kight, couldn’t they arrange to have monthly dues deducted from members’ checking accounts? Kight quickly began negotiating with local banks to do just that — forever changing how millions of Americans pay bills.”