Electronic money is actually a smart card with user's bank information. A microchip is placed on the surface of the smart card. A smart card is an integrated circuit card, similar in size to a credit card. It is an electronic payment card made by embedding an integrated circuit chip into a plastic chip, which can store more information, so it is also called an ic card.
There are two kinds of smart IC card chips: one is a "micro" computer that can process data; The other is the storage IC card. The chip is just a memory with a storage capacity of 256 kilobits, which is more than 500 times larger than the magnetic card. Both IC cards can store fund information and have passwords. Even if it is lost, it will not cause losses to the cardholder. The emergence of electronic money enables banks to provide more services to users.
1On July 3rd, 995, Britain began to test the circulation of electronic money in swinton. When a user handles an electronic money service project, the bank issues a smart card to the user, stores the deposit amount information specified by the user in the smart card, and gives the user a password, so that the user has a cash card. When in use, the user can pay by inserting the cash card into the electronic cash register in the store. Unlike credit cards, cash cards are not allowed to be overdrawn, users do not need to sign when using them, and the payee does not need special permission from the bank. Their functions are not fundamentally different from those of cash.
1996 5438+00 In June, Bank of China launched "Great Wall Electronic Debit Card" which can be connected with international standard computer network in China, Beijing and Guangzhou. This card has both shopping and cash withdrawal functions, and also has a password, which makes users feel convenient and safe. People call this public-oriented card "People's Credit Card".
Many taxis in Shanghai are equipped with electronic cash registers, and passengers can pay their fares with electronic money smart cards. After arriving at the destination, the passenger inserts the card into the credit card slot of the cash register, and it takes only 20 seconds to get the receipt. This electronic cash register can be connected with the bank's transfer system through the local wireless mobile communication network to realize automatic transfer.
In the field of public transportation, contactless smart cards have been widely used at home and abroad. As long as passengers hold smart card stored-value tickets, they can take various means of transportation in this area: subway, train, ship and local bus. This kind of smart card has brought great convenience for residents to travel.
1On September 23rd, 997, Mondex announced that it had begun to develop a new electronic currency that can be paid by mobile phone anytime and anywhere. When in use, insert the electronic money into the slot and dial the telephone number of the bank to pay the supplier. The bank can assign the project to the supplier. If the supplier is equipped with special electronic money receiving equipment, users can pay directly with electronic money, which ensures that users can use electronic money anytime and anywhere. In addition, when the user's deposit in electronic money is insufficient, he can also call the bank's special telephone to convert the money in the account into electronic money. This is also called electronic wallet.
1In July, 1998, the United States introduced a new payment method-electronic check, which simplified the online payment procedure between enterprises and made electronic payment easier, shorter and more efficient. Its workflow is: the payment company needs to open a digital check with special software, sign it with a secure digital signature, and send it to the collection company by mail after signing it. A few minutes later, the receiving company received the letter, checked it and signed its own number. After signing, send it to the bank by email, and the bank will handle it like a paper check. In this way, the funds can reach the account of the collection company overnight, shortening the time of one week or even longer used by the traditional payment method to two days or even shorter. The cost of participating in this program is not high. The company needs several thousand dollars for each set of electronic check software, and hundreds of thousands for each set of bank software. Analysts believe that every company can afford the cost of this electronic check plan, which is one of the reasons why the plan is more likely to succeed than previous attempts.
Some experts believe that the rise of a new generation of banking services represented by electronic money will have a great impact on the global banking industry. Online banking is the future trend, and banks must adapt to the new network financial environment. Online banking is a revolution. If the current commercial banks leave it alone, it may take over the financial media and payment service functions of commercial banks in an all-round way, and traditional banks will really "die like dinosaurs" as Bill Gates said.
Learning point
Law of diminishing marginal utility
The law of diminishing marginal utility, also known as the law of diminishing marginal benefit and diminishing marginal contribution, is a basic concept of economics. It means that in enterprises with resources as input, the utility of unit resource input to product output is decreasing. In other words, although its total output is increasing, its second derivative is negative, which slows down its growth rate, makes it eventually tend to peak and may decline, and the marginal products of changeable factors will decrease. When consumers consume more and more goods, the utility (i.e. marginal utility) of the last unit of goods they consume will usually show less and less phenomenon (diminishing), which is the so-called law of diminishing marginal utility. Also known as Ghosn's first law.