<application> A trial form of electronic funds transfer over
the Internet (and soon by electronic mail).
The ecash software stores digital money, signed by a bank, on
the user's local computer. The user can spend the digital
money at any shop accepting ecash, without the trouble of
having to open an account there first, or having to transmit
credit card numbers. The shop just has to accept the money,
and deposit it at the bank. The security is provided by a
public-key digital signature.
There process involves the issuing banks who exchange real
money for ecash, users who have and spend ecash, shops who
accept ecash payments, and clearing banks who clear payments
received by shops.
At the moment, all users and shops must have an account at
DigiCash's own bank, the "First Digital Bank" at
bank.digicash.com. They can withdraw money from the bank, and
convert it to ecash. Shops can be started by any ecash user.
Home.
(1995-04-10)
Nearby terms:
EC++ « ECAP II « E-carrier system « Ecash » ECC » Eccles-Jordan circuit » Echidna
