Forwarded message: Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 23:39:07 PST From: ptrubey@shl.com (Phil Trubey) Message-Id: <9311180739.AA18523@technet1.shl.com> Subject: Re: Online Shopping and Banking?

From: bobk@cyberspace.com (Bob) To: com-priv@psi.com Subject: Online Shopping and Banking?

The options to shop and do banking transactions electronically have proven to be a highly desirable services on other commercial networks. The Wall Street Journal recently had an article that said PCFlowers on Prodigy has become one of the top five FTD sellers of flowers. Microsoft announced today that it is getting into the home electronic banking business with US West and US Bankcorp. I'm sure that the Internet will soon have such services.

How far is the Internet from being able to provide reliable avenues for online financial transactions? What would it take for reliable email-ordering on the Net? How about banking and stock transactions? Is the primary roadblock the security issue of sending sensitive financial information (such as credit card numbers) over the Net?

In addition to the mechanics of how to implement such services, I'd like to hear some thoughts and predictions on the evolution of this important and probably inevitable development and its effect on the character and nature of the Internet as we now know it. ==

Bob (bobk@cyberspace.com) Seattle, Washington

FYI: there is a mailing list in place where developers/designers are developing an Internet Mercantile Protocol. This protocol will enable buy/sell transactions to be conducted over an unsecure network, such as most of the Internet. You can subscribe to the list by sending a request to imp-interest-request@thumper.bellcore.com - archives are accessable via FTP on thumper.bellcore.com in /pub/devetzis/imp. Minutes of the last BOF meeting are archived there as well as slides for one proposed IMP implementation. While there has not been a ton of activity on this list recently, there are at least two groups hard at work putting finishing touches on some new proposals for the list to consider. Phil Trubey | Internet: ptrubey@shl.com Systemhouse Inc. | Voice: 310-809-5491 | Fax: 310-860-9668