Re: e$ as "travellers check?

[Greg Ecker <eckerg@acf2.NYU.EDU>]

On Sun, 28 Aug 1994, Eric Hughes wrote:

>    But someone a long time ago brought up traveller's checks, and the
>    similarity between them and ecash. [...]  You pay some money to
>    American Express, you get a note issued by them, you give it to a
>    merchant, he redeems in with AE for money. [etc...]
> 
>    I dont' know much about economics, but as far as I can tell this
>    seems a pretty solid analogy.
> 
> What you have described is a financial model for digital cash, which
> is only part of a complete model.  The financial model is, as you
> point out, pretty easy.  You buy an instrument and then use it in lieu
> of a more direct transfer.  The privacy to counterparty comes about
> because the issuer's name is on the instrument, not yours; the issuer
> is a proxy for identity.
> 
>    It's clearly not _illegal_ to issue
>    travellers checks, 
> 
> No, but in certain places where they are used in lieu of greenbacks,
> aka Federal Reserve Banknotes, it _is_ illegal to use them without
> certain reporting requirements.  (Duncan can elaborate, as he's much
> more up on the details here.)  Complicity in failure to report can
> also be criminal.  And an issuer that sets up a system to thwart
> reporting requirements could easily be considered _prima facie_
> evidence of conspiracy to evade reporting.

	traveller's checks are an extremely easy way to defraud
	any bank that issues them,  what will happen to this
 	difficulty factor if they are anonymous ?