Re: Private legal tender

[wcs@anchor.ho.att.com (Bill_Stewart_HOY002_1305)]

Writing anonymously, Sugarplum suggests:
> Customer sends cash or money order to digital bank, along with a floppy
> with an anonymous email address (via a remailer) and a public key.
> The bank emails the customer encrypted digital cash corresponding to the
> amount he sent in (minus any service charges).  

The problem with this is that the bank or clerks aren't accountable -
they can pocket the snail-cash and not send the digicash 
	"Oh, darn, the floppy's blank" or "Oh, darn, the email bounced"
	"Guess there's nothing I can do, what a shame"
just as they could if you snailmailed cash to a conventional account.
If you're sending non-accountable-by-sender cash, you need some way to get
a receipt.  If you're mailing a check or digicash, you have a way to 
repudiate the transaction or at least make a claim against them,
or if you can go in to the bank in person for the transactions with cash.

			Bill
# Bill Stewart    wcs@anchor.ho.att.com  +1-908-949-0705 Fax-4876
# AT&T Bell Labs, Room 4M-312, Crawfords Corner Rd, Holmdel, NJ  07733-3030