money is itself only an abstract representation of real value. Digital code is recognised as having worth and thus can be exchanged for physical goods or services. The money in the bank is converted into code and is stored on a smart card, on your computer or on the computer of the seller. You can use this cash to buy DVD’s online, download ringtones, pay your bills, pay for car parking and even for getting your online shopping delivered. More recently, multi player online games have created their own currencies. The London Underground also operates its Oystercard.
Problems of E-money
Of course there are inherent dangers in the system, as with physical money. Fraud, money laundering, computer hacking and theft are the major issues. Pure digital cash is anonymous, in the same way as cash is so anonymity is a problem. If you lose the money, then you lose the money. With credit cards and breaches of security at the bank, your losses will be reimbursed by the relevant organisation. In the online world there are then additional problems. What about technology failures? Do you lose money when the system crashes halfway through the transactions? What about double spending problem, that is the theoretical problem that since the digital money is anonymous and untraceable then you could simply steal the credits and keep on using them. Cryptography solves this problem since there will be an electronic tag attached to the digital cash.
A英语论文网 【http://www.51lunwen.org】nother potential problem is the move from public law organisations to private law organisations. The Bank of England and other central banks are widely respected financial institutions and have a virtual monopoly over the financial system and the printing of notes and minting of coins. E-cash raises the spectre of private organisations issuing credits and monies worth. The vast majority of these organisations will be bona fide but there is a risk that some organisations may be less than scrupulous. An additional threat posed by this question of trustworthiness relates to confidence. If customers lose faith in the issuing company then the value of their e-money may diminish as well. That is the risk of deflation is high for private systems of e-money. Thus, governments must promulgate minimum rules which issuers of e-money must adhere to.
There is also the issue of interoperability. As e-money systems proliferate throughout the globe, there is a risk that these systems are not interoperable. As yet, there is no single agreed technical standard for e-money so we have to wait for a system to become dominant and thus the preferred system.
A further issue concerns liability – who pays out in the case of fraud, loss or theft? E-wallets – if you lose money in your wallet it is unfortunate and an expensive lesson in personal security. So it is with e-wallets and e-purses. This may not encourage people to go online and hence explains the reliance of e-commerce
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