The electronic purse, a new payments instrument offering advantages to both consumers and merchants, may soon replace currency in many routine transactions. Widespread use of the electronic purse could, however, raise concerns about consumer protection and the safety and soundness of the instrument.

To improve efficiency, some large retailers, suppliers, and distributors have begun to conduct business-to-business commerce electronically. This practice could grow rapidly if the Internet becomes the primary low-cost network for such transactions. Before the Internet can fully support...

Electronic billing and payment systems are about to change the way many households pay their monthly bills. These systems are likely to increase consumer convenience and reduce billers' costs. Several factors, however, could slow down the widespread use of electronic billing and payments,...

The increasing prospects for large volumes of commerce taking place over open computer networks has created considerable interest in the security and technology of open computer network commerce. In this paper, we explain how the basic encryption technology for sending secure messages works, and...