DEC's MICROCASH

["James M. Cobb" <jcobb@ahcbsd1.ovnet.com>]

  Friend, 
 
 
  01 14 96 Edupage includes: 
 
  MICROCASH
 
  Digital Equipment filed a patent last August for a payment 
  system called Millicent, which enables Web-site operators 
  to charge as little as a tenth of a cent for each customer 
  "hit." 
 
  The system relies on middle-men --credit card companies or 
  digital banks -- to handle the transactions, but its novelty 
  lies in its cost-effective design geared toward tracking 
  minuscule amounts of cash.  To keep disk storage at a minimum, 
  security measures providing privacy and a trail of signed re- 
  ceipts are not included in the system, but proponents point out 
  that would-be cyberthieves would have to crack a lot of trans- 
  actions -- 10,000 at 0.1 cent each -- to make just $10.  "There 
  are easier ways to make 10 bucks," says Millicent's inventor. 
 
  (Business Week 15 Jan 96 p90) 
 
 
  Cordially, 
 
  Jim