Personal On-Line Payments

The rapid growth of e-commerce and the Internet has led tothe development of new payment mechanisms capableof tapping the Internet’s unique potential for speed andconvenience. A recent and especially successful exampleof such a development is the personal on-line payment:a mechanism that uses web and e-mail technologies tofacilitate transfers between individuals.1In a typical transaction of this type, the payer accesses thepayment provider’s web site to initiate a funds transfer. Thepayer enters information about the transfer along withpayment delivery instructions. Notification of the transfer issent to the payee by e-mail; confirmation by the payee alsooccurs via e-mail. The payment provider’s computer thentransfers the funds.[...]