Chaum criticism

I am trying to read and understand the Niels Ferguson "Off-line Coins" article, the "Efficient Off-line Digital Cash" paper also from CWI

Both articles, as I recall from the abstracts, exist square within the observer framework.

Do the papers I just listed require observer chips, or are they OK for software-only?

The two CWI papers do require observers and are useless for software-only implementations.

Is there software we can use NOW for ATM's and banks?

The original blind signature still works. It can still be money. That hasn't changed. Recall, though, that the blind signature is patented by Chaum in addition to also requiring the underlying RSA patent. Eric