Consumers using CyberCoin
- What is the dollar range of transactions that CyberCoin can be used for?
CyberCoin can be used for microtransactions, or small denomination
purchases, on the Internet ranging from $0.25 - $10.00 and up.
- Does it cost the consumer to use CyberCoin?
There is no cost to the consumer for using CyberCoin, the electronic Wallet
or any of CyberCash's other services.
- What is the electronic Wallet?
The Wallet is a free graphical software program that is installed on a
consumer's personal computer and provides a vehicle for secure,
instantaneous transactions between consumers, merchants and their banks.
The Wallet has an easy-to-use graphical look and feel and currently
supports multiple credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express
and Discover. A transaction log also records all Wallet activities.
- How does a consumer get a Wallet?
Consumers will soon be able to download a branded bank Wallet from
participating bank and merchant sites. CyberCash Wallets can now be
downloaded directly from the CyberCash web site at
http://www.cybercash.com. Once a Wallet is downloaded, cash can be
transferred from the consumer's checking account or from their credit cards
into their Wallet.
- Can a consumer use his/her existing bank account with CyberCoin?
Yes. CyberCash created the CyberCoin service to allow a consumer to use an
existing bank account to transfer money to their Wallet. Banks supporting
CyberCoin provide the accounts which "hold" the money transferred to the
Wallet; enabling the money transferred to remain within the banking
networks. However, these banks do not require an account to be set up with
them.
This funds transfer process is similar to the process one goes through
when receiving a credit card from a bank other than one's regular bank.
While one doesn't have to have an account at the card issuing bank, the
banking networks facilitate the payments seamlessly.
- Once a consumer has a Wallet, how does he/she connect his/her current bank account to it
Once a consumer downloads a Wallet, s/he will walk through a simple and
brief process to register their existing checking account and bind it to
their Wallet. While this registration process is occurring, the system is
instantaneously confirming the validity and authenticity of the person, the
account and the connection between the two.
- What are typical purchases using the CyberCoin service?
The CyberCoin service facilitates internet transactions generally below $10.00.
Typical purchases will initially include business research, micropublishing
(newspaper articles), pay-to-view or pay-to-play transactions such as
online gaming or online chat, software distribution, etc.
- What platforms are the new CyberCoin-enabled Wallets available on?
The Windows95 and 3.1 Wallet is available immediately for the consumer to download at the
CyberCash Web site (http://www.cybercash.com). The Macintosh Wallet will be
available in Q1, 1997, and will be available from the CyberCash Web site as
well as participating banks.
Merchant software is immediately available for free from CyberCash on the
Solaris and BSDI platforms. Windows NT merchant software will be available
Q4, 1996.
- Does the money go into the consumer's PC?
Money is never moved onto or stored on the consumer's PC. CyberCoin is a
notational system. When the consumer transfers money into his/her Wallet,
it is legal record of the money, but not the money itself. The money stays
safely within the confines of the existing banking networks.
- What happens to a consumer's money if the hard disk crashes?
The money is returned to the consumer's checking account upon the bank being notified of the crash. If the
computer containing the Wallet crashes, the consumer contacts customer
service, gives a previously defined verification identification, and the money is
automatically transferred back into the consumer's bank account.
CyberCash's notational system is a representation of the money, while a
tokenized system is the real e-money being moved. When money is moved with
CyberCoin, it is "noted" by existing banking networks and deducted or added
to the proper account. At the close of each business day, the true funds
are reconciled within the existing banking networks, similar to the ways
accounts are managed today.
- Is there a limit to the amount of cash a consumer can put in his/her
Wallet?
Yes, you can load up to $80 over one month.
- Can a consumer use CyberCoin anonymously?
The CyberCoin system is completely private, but it is not "anonymous" - the
consumer always has a record of his/her transactions and can prove them but
the merchant will not know the consumer's identity unless the consumer
reveals it. As a consumer is not asked to show an ID when purchasing an
item with cash in the real world, it is the same when making a purchase
with CyberCoin on the Internet.
- What information is being encrypted?
In a CyberCoin transaction, the financial information is encrypted and
digitally signed, but the message itself is not. This encryption process
allows CyberCash to offer industrial strength security worldwide.
- Can a consumer use the CyberCoin service or the Wallet at a
non-CyberCash-enabled merchant site?
No. To use the CyberCoin wallet services, a consumer must be shopping at a
CyberCash-enabled merchant.
- Is the CyberCoin system federally approved?
Funds in the CyberCoin system are FDIC insured. For the consumer this
guarantees that if the CyberCoin issuing bank goes out of business, the
consumer's money is insured by the Federal government.
- How does the consumer take money out of his/her Wallet?
Consumers can transfer money out of the Wallet as simply as it is
transferred in through a simple click-through process. The consumer
determines the amount of money he or she wishes to move, decides which
DDA account the money will be transferred to by clicking on it, and the funds
are immediately put back into the account. Consumers, however, can not move
money into someone else's account or onto a credit card.
- Does the Wallet keep a "receipt" or transaction log of a consumer's
purchases?
The Wallet keeps a transaction log or "receipt" of every transaction ever
made. These receipts act the same as any receipt in the physical world.
- Once a consumer has paid, how can they be "assured" that they will
receive their electronic goods?
CyberCash confirms the delivery of both payment and goods through the use
of public and private key encryption, one of the security measures in
place. Until delivery of the goods has reached the consumer's computer
through the transfer of the encrypted key, the funds will not be moved.
When it is confirmed that the message digest has reached the consumer's
hard disk, the money is instantaneously moved to the merchant's
"CashRegister."
Banks and Merchants Using CyberCoin
-
Why would a bank be interested in offering CyberCoin?
Offering the CyberCoin service allows banks to use their existing networks
to create new revenue streams, develop brand awareness and extend customer
loyalty, while cutting costs associated with these marketing efforts in the
physical world.
- Why would a merchant be interested in using CyberCoin?
CyberCoin offers the merchant a cost-effective means to capture the casual
and spontaneous sale - which some estimate as high as 80-90% of the
Internet digital goods market. With CyberCoin, merchants can offer
customers a choice of subscription or pay-per-view and thus expand their
market.
Merchants can use CyberCoin as their primary transaction means or as a
complementary payment model to an already existing model on their Web site.
CyberCoin is used by merchants to offer lower-priced items such as
software, services, information, graphics, games, music and Web access, and
other items that can not usually be purchased with a credit card. CyberCoin
also makes pay-per-view and pay-per-transaction models possible.
- Is CyberCoin SET-compliant?
SET is a credit card standard and as such is not applicable to CyberCoin.
CyberCash supports the recently proposed standard for Secure Electronic
Transaction (SET) over the Internet, announced by VISA and MasterCard. When
SET is established, CyberCash is committed to being one of the first
SET-compliant Internet payment services available.
- What is the CyberCoin business model?
CyberCoin services will be distributed through banks, who will offer
online merchants the CyberCoin service and offer consumers co-branded
Wallets. The merchants pay the bank a per-transaction fee to use CyberCoin.
This fee will be a tier-based pricing model based on the transaction size.
The bank will pay CyberCash a transaction fee for providing the technology
and processing service.
The merchant can find new revenue channels with CyberCoin because it can
now offer services and goods at low and incremental costs that were
previously prohibitive because the pricing models of credit cards were
ineffective with low-cost items. The merchant, with a very low cost of
digital goods, can profitably charge on a per-transaction or per-view
basis.
- What security features are in place to protect consumers, their money
and transactions?
CyberCoin uses the most advanced security features for consumers, banks and
merchants. When a consumer binds, or connects, their checking account to
their Wallet, CyberCash confirms three things: that the person is who they
say they are; that the account is a valid and active account with money in
it; and that the person is connected legally to that account.
Once confirmed, CyberCash protects the consumer through the use of 768-bit
RSA encryption with the password-protected Wallet. CyberCash is also
working with VeriSign to incorporate Digital IDs for instantaneous
validation of an individual and merchants identity.
- Can CyberCoin services be used outside of the US or with foreign merchants?
CyberCash is working towards a solution to support global currency
transactions. However, CyberCash
currently offers purchases made only with U.S. dollars and at online
merchants who have a US bank account.
Eventually, CyberCoin will be able to be used outside the US with any
foreign or International bank that is a CyberCoin issuing bank. When a
consumer buys a good or service on the Internet listed in foreign currency,
the system will translate the currency on-the-fly with the exchange rate
guaranteed by a bank, and the debit will occur in the consumer's domestic
currency. Consumers will also be able to hold a number of different
currencies in their Wallet, similar to the way funds are held in the
physical world.
- How do the bank's role and CyberCash's role differ?
Banks provide the marketing and financial systems for actual holding and
transfer of funds, while CyberCash provides the bank with technology and
processing services.
CyberCash will also work with banks to promote the bank's brand and the
bank's Wallet.
- When does the wallet appear during a transaction?
The Wallet is a helper application that is automatically launched when the
consumer clicks the "Pay" button on a merchant's Web site. The essence of
the Wallet consists of a set of transaction files and the consumer's
digital identification. These unique identifiers allow the consumer to
log-in and use their Wallet at any PC that has the basic Wallet software
loaded on it.
- Can CyberCoin be used for peer-to-peer transactions?
CyberCoin is not a peer-to-peer solution between individual consumers on
the Internet. CyberCash's electronic check services will offer peer-to-peer transactions. It will be available in 1997.
- What is Regulation E and why is it important that CyberCoin is
Regulation E compliant?
Regulation E is the rule governing electronic funds transfers. It is
intended as a consumer protection rule to help guard consumers against
losing money from errors or fraud in electronic funds transfers. It
requires written advance authorization for arrangements to move money
electronically, written receipts for every transfer, a written periodic
statement, giving the consumer the right to challenge any electronic funds
transfer for a period of 30 days from when they get their statement.
Financial institutions offering EFT have a duty to investigate any
challenges and respond within a short time (usually 10 days). CyberCoin is Regulation E compliant.