From: rah@TIAC.net (Robert Hettinga, Shipwright Development Corp.)
Date: Tue, 3 May 94 10:09:37 PDT
To: Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
Subject: Re: Digital Cash
Message-ID: <199405031709.NAA00274@zork.tiac.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>On Tue, 3 May 1994 Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
>
>>On Tue, 3 May 1994 smb@research.att.com wrote:
>>
>> This underscores what I've said in the past about anonymous digital
>> cash:  it's not going to go anywhere unless folks are willing to pay
>> a premium for privacy.  There are too many sound reasons for keeping
>> audit trails (debugging, fraud detection, marketing analysis, etc. --
>
>Something overlooked in the real world that encourages the maintenance of
>private payment systems (cash) is th existence of a large number of people
>with bad credit.
>
[etcetera, etcetera]

>Thus, we see the recently introduced computer phonecards which you can use
>to buy long distance phone service in advance for cash.  No hassles with
>telephone account which tend to require a fixed address in any case.
>
>Note also the popularity of secured credit cards which are now issued by a
>score of financial institutions.
>
>There will continue to be a big market for "cash" to serve this market.
>
>DCF
>

Ahhh.

My lurking pays off!

So good to see talk in earnest about "Cyphercash" (I noticed from my
reading of the imp-interest archive that Digicash(tm) is taken already ...)

I have been looking for a sound business reason for digital cash. I think
you folks may have found it.  Something to beat over the head of my
B-school trained pals anyway...

I think the primary reason that utilities put up with the float on checks
is because they have no choice. Credit card fees are too onerous, and there
were too many ways to cheat the old coin-operated electricity meter down
the hall.

There was a discussion in Forbes a while back (if anybody wants me to go
find it, let me know) about how electric utilities somewhere were running
pilot systems of prepaid electricity cards, which would get rid of meter
readers and their attendant overhead, and replace it with commissioned
"agents" (the local corner liquor store) ;-) in some of the higher-risk
neighborhoods.

I think there might be other reasons for using digital cash, but I'll take
cash in advance for a pornography feed for a start.

Anybody else out there with less draconian advantages to digital cash?

-Ad<thanx>vance,

Bob Hettinga


-----------------
Robert Hettinga                       "There is no difference between someone
Shipwright Development Corporation      eats too little and sees Heaven and
44 Farquhar Street                      someone who drinks too much and sees
Boston, MA 02313 USA                    snakes." -- Bertrand Russell
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