英语论文网

Topic 6: E-money
Topic Preview

This topic introduces the student to the fundamental concept of e-money. The internet and new technology have transformed the way businesses, institutions, organisations and individuals move money from one account to another and from one country to another. Money is just an IOU, where the person accepting the money offers a certain level of goods/services in exchange for the money. E-money is therefore just the modern equivalent of coins, cattle and metals. Security and trust are key concerns. The law must also permit small transactions and/or young persons contracts to be recognised as lawful transactions.
Topic Content
     
What is money?
Money is basically just an IOU, where the person accepting the money offers a certain level of goods/services in exchange for the money or monies worth. In ancient times cattle were used as a form of money. Every product can be reduced to a certain value in relation to another good or service. From cattle, society moved on to shells, metal, coins and paper. Even today, British banknotes declare that they promise to pay the bearer on demand. Over time, money replaced barter as the main method of economic transactions. Interestingly enough, the non-physical requirements of e-money means that E-money is more like the old barter system as bytes are moved from one electronic account to another.

E-money
The internet and new technology have transformed the way businesses, institutions, organisations and individuals move money from one account to another and from one country to another. E-money is therefore just the modern equivalent of coins, cattle and metals. Security and trust are key concerns. The law must also permit small transactions and/or young persons contracts to be recognised as lawful transactions.

A good example of the interface between physical money and e-money is the Euro. When the Euro was first launched on 1st January 1999, the Euro only existed in digital form. The Euro had to be converted into the real currencies of the Eurozone countires before it could be spent. 1st January 2002 of course changed all this and the Euro notes and coins came into existence.

E-money is also commonly referred to as digital cash or e-cash. E-money can be divided into different classifications – identifiable e-money and unidentifiable money. This can be further subdivided into on-line and offline e-money. 

Systems of electronic cash either use pre-existing transfer systems such as credit cards or cryptography, or else the companies themselves use a new system which is available to a certain set of sellers, such as Vodafone’s m-payment system.