new electronic cash card to be tested in UK

[Ian Turton <ian@geography.leeds.ac.uk>]

An interesting article on the back page of the Guardian today, headlined
Banks step up war on cash with card topped up by phone

Even Street vendors could take electronic money reports Nicholas Bannister

National Westminster Bank [one of the UK's big four banks] has  developed
an alternative to cash -- a plastic card with a microchip which stores
"electronic money" and can be topped up over the phone. 
Yesterday it revealed plans to for a year long trial of Mondex, its
electronic money sytem, starting in Swindon. [more details of trial
involving 10,000 people] 

The system lets customers add money to thier card by using addapted cash
dispensers [ATMs] or phones to access thier accounts. Once cahrged with
money, the card becomes the equivalent of cash.
Payments are made by slipping the card into a retailers terminal. The sum
is transfered from the card to the retailer without the need for time
consuming authorisations or signatures.
Providing there is enough money on the card, the transaction will take
place.

Payments between individuals are carried out by inserting the card into a
pocket sized electronic wallet and making 6 key strokes. Customers and
retailers can deposit money into thier bank accounts over the phone.

[... bit about how it won't cause bank staff cuts and that 90% of
transactions are still cash ...]

[....] the system is not designed to replace credit and debit cards. The
system was designed for small and large payments. Small traders, for
example a newspaper vendor, could have a battery powered terminal.

He [Tim Jones, the designer] claimed it was safer, quicker and more
convenient to handle electronic money rather than physical money. But if a
mondex card was lost or stolen, the money on it would be lost in the same
way as it would be in a missing wallet.

However, cards could be locked to prevent unauthorised use by tapping in a
four digit personal code. Once locked, the money could not be spent without
reentering the code.

[... discussion on how to modify ATMs and phones to handle cards ..]

Other British and forign banks would be invited to join mondex in due
course to create a "global payment scheme".

[... comment from retailers saying its a good idea ...]

The key to the card's security lies in the Japanese developed technology
and microchip. Nat West and Midland said that technical advances had made
it impossible [sic] to conterfeit cards. But Mr Jones said Mondex would
have a research budget "for ever" to keep ahead of the counterfeiters.


Ian Turton - School of Geography, Leeds University
	     0532 -333309