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E$? Whatever

A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE OF MONEY, AS CITI SEES IT
Known inside Citicorp as the Electronic Money System, the bank's
version of electronic currency for cyberspace is the result of
four years of mostly top-secret toil by technical wizards who
report to Colin Crook, the New York money-center's top technology
officer. Still in a prototype stage and probably years away from
full-scale operation, the Electronic Money System is described as
fully equivalent to cash, but hardware and software reside on
secure processing environment.
     At a recent demonstration, one of six laptops was programmed
to contain the functions of two banks, with icons representing
tellers, security, and other features. The other terminals were
set up to display "electronic wallets" that individuals can use
to withdraw money from the virtual bank, exchange money with each
other, and perform a variety of sophisticated transactions. For
example, a customer on one laptop can transfer $100 and 50
British pounds from his bank account to his electronic wallet.
The cash then exists in digital form on the individual's computer
hardware. "Our system does not depend on any network mechanism
for security," said project manager Sholom Rosen. "The security
is between the two devices. They have their own cryptography and
security." Bank officials said they intend to apply the
technology first in wholesale functions, with retail use still
far in the future.
                         -- American Banker, 2/23/96

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<a href="mailto:[email protected]">Dr. Dimitri Vulis</a>
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps