Any C'punks and/or interested parties who happen to be in Amsterdam might want to pay a visit to De Waag this Friday night, ~7pm: AFAIK, the Chipknip--the electronic cash system tested in Arnhem--is making its public debut in the restaurant/cafe "In De Waag." It looks like a bad standard, imo: smartcards storing x<fl50, PIN-card dependent ( -> True Name), transaction records kept (duration unknown) by the implementing company, Interpay. If you're interested in the standard ("VIC"?), get in touch with Interpay: they _have_ released the payment boxes (real cute: an LCD screen, a green "ja" button and a yellow "?" button), and I've seen a Rabobank wallet-reader. For now, the cards stay in De Waag. Full rollout should be about the end of this year. Ted