From electronic money to electronic cash: payment on the Net

The discussion of online payments, while ultimately being a key issue for the future Information SuperHighway, is as significant now as it ever will be. The explosive increase in the use of the Internet has seen the emergence of commercial services and pressures previously restricted to Compuserve and the like. Many predictions see this burgeoning electronic marketplace becoming a significant component of the world economy. However this can only happen once two key problems have been addressed, namely, protecting property rights and Making payments. This has led to a frantic battle for payment mechanisms that can provide the new medium with the means of conducting transactions. Briefly examines the inexorable evolution of money into electronic forms and discusses the alternative types of payment mechanisms proposed, on trial or in use on the Internet. Identifies the key commercial requirements that successful use of the Internet will impose on a payment mechanism, and use these requirements to evaluate each of the mechanisms to determine which (if any) are really suitable for electronic commerce.