At 10:57 AM 4/11/2002 -0400, Adam Shostack wrote: >Thus, ecash deployment is a 3 party problem, where most new >technologies that succeed are not.
Actually, it is worse than this. Credit cards are a four party transaction. Mostly for historical reasons, but still, the customer's card is presented to a merchant, who presents the slips to a "acquiring bank" who then talks to the "issuing bank" to get money from the customer. The banks maintain this system when it has long outlived its historical justification. Similarly, checks are a four party transaction. Real cash is a two party transaction, but nearly everything else has four or more. So to begin with, you need to work it as a four party problem. You will have to bribe one or more parties to make them agree to drop out of the party. Pat Pat Farrell [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pfarrell.com
