Digital Cash - Uses Of Digital Cash

USES OF DIGITAL CASH

Credit card payments account for more than 90 percent of all Web site purchases, compared to only 25 percent of offline sales. Digital cash may not displace credit cards for large online purchases, but for small purchases it has overwhelming advantages including extremely low transaction costs. Among the transactions that digital cash may facilitate are smallvolume sales by marketers, such as publishers or music sites, which sell individual books or songs online. Some e-cash services authorize "micro-payment" arrangements permitting shoppers to rack up a series of small purchases before charging the total to a credit card. Other systems deduct small amounts, from one-tenth of a cent to $10, from an account as purchases are completed. Still other arrangements enable registered users to e-mail dollars to each other or transfer amounts via wireless and hand-held devices.