Private legal tender
Bill_Stewart_HOY002_1305
wcs at anchor.ho.att.com
Wed Aug 18 08:05:44 PDT 1993
Writing anonymously, Sugarplum suggests:
> Customer sends cash or money order to digital bank, along with a floppy
> with an anonymous email address (via a remailer) and a public key.
> The bank emails the customer encrypted digital cash corresponding to the
> amount he sent in (minus any service charges).
The problem with this is that the bank or clerks aren't accountable -
they can pocket the snail-cash and not send the digicash
"Oh, darn, the floppy's blank" or "Oh, darn, the email bounced"
"Guess there's nothing I can do, what a shame"
just as they could if you snailmailed cash to a conventional account.
If you're sending non-accountable-by-sender cash, you need some way to get
a receipt. If you're mailing a check or digicash, you have a way to
repudiate the transaction or at least make a claim against them,
or if you can go in to the bank in person for the transactions with cash.
Bill
# Bill Stewart wcs at anchor.ho.att.com +1-908-949-0705 Fax-4876
# AT&T Bell Labs, Room 4M-312, Crawfords Corner Rd, Holmdel, NJ 07733-3030
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