E-cash and virtual currency as alternative payment methods

Claire Greene and Oz Shy

Journal of Payments Strategy & Systems, 2014, vol. 8, issue 3, 274-288

Abstract: This paper describes e-cash and virtual currencies and analyses their differences as alternative means of payment. E-cash, the digital equivalent of government-issued physical notes and coins, is stored on a chip carried by consumers and merchants. Virtual currencies are not backed by sovereign governments and are mostly used online. E-cash is fully exchangeable to government-backed currency at a one-to-one ratio; virtual currency may not be. For both, the lack of broad acceptance for payment currently limits their use. To succeed, digital currencies need to achieve a critical mass of consumers and merchants willing to use them.

Keywords: digital currency; virtual currency; e-cash; alternative payment methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E5 G2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aza:jpss00:y:2014:v:8:i:3:p:274-288

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