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Properties of electronic money. Electronic money and payment systems

Most active Internet users use electronic money to pay for goods and services online. Payments using electronic money are instant, and they are a good alternative to bank cards and accounts. Most novice Internet users have heard about electronic money, but have a very superficial understanding of it. However, as you master the computer and the World Wide Web, sooner or later, a moment will arise when you need to make a payment online.

In this article we will talk about what electronic money is, the history of its origin, how to start it, its advantages and disadvantages.

Electronic money (or in other words, virtual money) cannot be touched or put in a wallet, but it has the same value as physical money. And this is not surprising, because... In order for you to have electronic money on the Internet, you need to add real banknotes there to exchange for an electronic equivalent or receive them from someone by transfer, who in turn also deposited real banknotes, i.e. Electronic money on the Internet does not appear out of nowhere like in a fairy tale.

Virtual funds can be compared to a bank card to which your salary was transferred. You cannot touch the money, but you can pay with it or transfer it from card to card using online banking via a computer or smartphone.

To accept, store and make payments with virtual money, you must have an account in a payment system that handles electronic money. There are a large number of payment systems on the Internet, both foreign and Russian. They do not issue money like the Central Bank, but simply provide operational services for a small commission percentage.

Here is a small list of what you can pay with virtual funds:

goods and their delivery in online stores;
mobile communications;
to buy tickets;
book hotel rooms;
pay for housing and communal services;
pay fines.

And in general, any goods or services sold via the Internet can be paid for with electronic money.

History of electronic money

The official history of electronic money dates back to 1993, when European central banks drew attention to the growth of electronic payments on the Internet and initiated a study of this phenomenon. In 1994, according to the results of a study, electronic financial transactions were officially recognized on the Internet. And since 1996, the central banks of the Big Ten countries began to carry out financial monitoring of electronic money in countries with a developed Internet.

On the territory of Russia, electronic money has been used for the first time since the mid-90s of the last century, gradually increasing turnover and actively developing. By 1998, the first electronic payment system (EPS) Webmoney appeared in Russia, carrying out transactions in all major currencies.

At the moment, the most common electronic payment systems in Russia are:

Yandex money.
Qiwi.
Webmoney

Payments from the above systems are accepted by all online stores in Russia

To pay for goods and services with electronic money, you need to open an account, or a so-called “wallet,” in one of the EPS (electronic payment systems) that you are going to use.

To create electronic money you must complete the following steps:

Register in the selected electronic payment system and receive an account number, the so-called “wallet”.
Identify yourself. Without personal identification, the use of EPS is possible only with restrictions.
Enter the required amount in real money to your wallet in any way (through a terminal, communication shops, online banking, from a bank card, etc.) that is available for this payment system.

Registration and further work with the wallet should not cause any problems; you just need to follow the step-by-step instructions of the payment system.

Advantages of electronic money

The main advantages of electronic money are:

Instant payment for goods and services at any time of the day using a computer or smartphone. Each payment system has an application for a mobile device.
Quick transfer of funds to relatives and friends.
Quick replenishment of your wallet with a minimal commission or no commission at all, depending on the replenishment method.
Easy to use and create an account.
All popular payment systems issue a virtual or real card from which you can make payments online without fear of revealing your main salary or credit card. And in the case of receiving a physical plastic card from the payment system, you can pay with it in ordinary stores or withdraw money from it that was transferred to you in the system.

Disadvantages of electronic money

Along with undeniable advantages, virtual money also has a number of disadvantages.

Commission when withdrawing funds from your wallet to your bank account or card.
Commission for withdrawing electronic money from a payment system card.
If you lose your password, you lose access to your wallet, which will be difficult to recover.
It is possible that the wallet could be hacked by attackers and therefore lose money.

Do not forget about the payment system, and also do not allow your password to become known to anyone, otherwise you may lose all the funds in your electronic wallet. When registering a wallet, come up with one that will be impossible to match.

In addition, despite the serious measures taken by payment systems to protect user funds, the possibility of wallet hacking cannot be completely ruled out. Therefore, do not constantly store large amounts in your EPS account.

Share.

Main characteristics of electronic money:

the monetary value is recorded on an electronic device;

it can be used for a variety of payments;

payment is final.

Nevertheless, the issue of independently separating electronic money into a separate type remains debatable, as does their definition, role in payment system and functions.

In modern monetary systems electronic money is fiat money, have a credit basis, perform the functions of a means of payment, circulation, accumulation, and have a guarantee. The basis for issuing electronic money into circulation is cash and non-cash money. Electronic money acts as a monetary obligation of the issuer when servicing non-cash turnover as a requirement for it. They can be considered as an element of the monetary aggregate. Automatic maintenance of bank accounts (crediting and debiting funds, transfers from account to account, interest calculation, monitoring the status of settlements) is carried out electronically (electronic transfers). Tools for electronic access to accounts are constantly evolving, however, money is still presented in the form of account records.

Properties of electronic money are based both on traditional monetary properties (liquidity, portability, versatility, divisibility, convenience) and on relatively new ones (security, anonymity, durability). However, not all of them in the process of application meet the requirements of high liquidity and stable purchasing power, and therefore their issue and use in circulation require a special procedure for regulation and control. Electronic access tools include payment cards, electronic checks, and remote banking.

Calculations on the Internet. "Network" electronic money

These calculations are based on the concept of electronic cash. Electronic cash is digital cash in electronic form, used in network payments, representing electronic bills in the form of a set of binary codes existing on a particular medium, transported in the form of a digital envelope over the network. Electronic cash technology allows you to pay for goods and services in the virtual economy by transferring information from one computer to another. Electronic cash, like real cash, is anonymous and reusable, and digital banknote numbers are unique. They can be transferred from one person to another, bypassing the bank, but at the same time keeping them within network payment systems. When paying for a product or service, digital money is transferred to the seller, who either transfers it to a bank participating in the system for crediting to his account, or pays his partners with it. Currently, various network payment systems are widespread on the Internet.

Yandex money. In mid-2002, Paycash entered into an agreement with the largest search engine on the Runet, Yandex, to launch the Yandex project. Money (universal payment system created in 2002). The main features of the Yandex payment system. Money:

electronic transfers between user accounts;

buy, sell and exchange electronic currencies:

pay for services (Internet access, cellular communications, hosting, apartment, etc.);

transfer funds to a credit or debit card.

The transaction fee is 0.5% for each payment transaction. When withdrawing funds to a bank account or other method, the Yandex.Money system retains 3% of the amount of funds withdrawn, in addition, an additional percentage is charged directly by the transfer agent (bank, post office, etc.).

WebmoneyTransfer- the payment system, which appeared on November 25, 1998, is the most widespread and reliable Russian electronic payment system for conducting financial transactions in real time, created for users of the Russian-speaking part of the World Wide Web. Anyone can become a user of the system. The means of payment in the system are title units called WebMoney, or WM for short. All WM is stored in so-called electronic wallets. The most common types of wallets are:

WMZ - dollar wallets;

WMR - ruble wallets;

WME - wallets for storing euros;

WMU - wallets for storing Ukrainian hryvnia.

The WebMoney Transfer payment system allows you to:

carry out financial transactions and pay for goods (services) on the Internet;

pay for the services of mobile operators, Internet and television providers, pay for subscriptions to the media;

exchange WebMoney title units for other electronic currencies at a favorable rate;

make payments by email, use your mobile phone as a wallet;

owners of online stores accept payments for goods on their website.

WM is a global information system for the transfer of property rights, open for free use by everyone. Using WebMoney Transfer, you can make instant transactions related to the transfer of property rights to any online goods and services, create your own web services and network enterprises, conduct transactions with other participants, issue and maintain your own tools.

There are several ways to replenish your WM wallet:

by bank transfer (including through Sberbank of the Russian Federation);

postal transfer;

using the Western Union system;

by exchanging rubles or currency for WM at an authorized bank or exchange office;

by receiving WM from any of the system participants in exchange for services, goods or in exchange for cash;

using a prepaid WM card;

through the E-Gold system.

RUpay- The payment system, operating since October 7, 2002, is an integrator of payment systems, where payment systems and exchange offices are programmatically combined into one system.

Main features of the RUpay payment system:

making electronic transfers between user accounts;

buy, sell and exchange electronic currencies with a minimum commission;

make payments to other electronic payment systems: WebMoney, PayPal, E-gold, etc.;

accept payments on your website in more than 20 ways;

receive funds from the system account at the nearest ATM;

manage your account from any computer connected to the Internet."

PayCash- electronic payment system. It began its work on the Russian market in early 1998, positioned primarily as an accessible means of fast, efficient and secure cash payments on the Internet.

The main advantage of this payment system is the use of its own unique developments in the field of financial cryptography, highly appreciated by Western experts. The PayCash payment system has a number of prestigious awards and patents, including the “Certificate of Special Recognition from the US Congress.” At the moment, PayCash technology is used by such well-known payment systems as Yandex. Money (Russia), Cyphermint PayCash (USA), DramCash (Armenia), PayCash (Ukraine).

PayCash is based on digital cash technology. From the point of view of the user (seller or buyer), PayCash technology represents many “electronic wallets”, each of which has its own owner. All wallets are connected to a single processing center, where information received from the owners is processed. Thanks to modern technologies, users can carry out transactions with their money without leaving the computer. The technology allows you to transfer digital cash from one wallet to another, store it in online banking, convert it, withdraw it from the system to traditional bank accounts or other payment systems.

E-gold- an electronic payment system created in 1996 by Gold&Silver Reserve (G&SR). E-gold is an American electronic money settlement system, the main currency of which is precious metals - gold, platinum, silver, etc., and this currency is physically backed by the corresponding metal. The system is completely international, works with all currencies of the world, and anyone can gain access to it. The reliability of this payment system is guaranteed by US and Swiss banks. The main difference between the e-gold payment system is that all funds are physically backed by precious metals stored in Nova Scotia Bank (Toronto). The number of users of the c-gold payment system in 2006 was about 3 million people. The main advantages of the e-gold payment system are as follows:

internationality - regardless of place of residence, any user has the opportunity to open an account in e-gold:

anonymity - when opening an account, there are no mandatory requirements for indicating the user’s real personal data;

ease and intuitiveness - the interface is intuitive and user-friendly;

no additional software installation required;

versatility - the widespread use of this payment system allows it to be used for almost any financial transaction.

You can enter money into the system in two ways: receive a transfer from another participant or transfer money in any currency to the E-gold system using the mechanism described on the website via bank transfer.

You can receive or cash out money by ordering a bank transfer on the E-gold website, making a transfer to other systems (PayPal, WebMoney, Western Union) or to any credit or debit card.

Stormpay- payment system opened in 2002. Any user can register in this system, regardless of country of residence. One of the advantages of the system is its universality and lack of reference to a specific geographic region, since the system works with all countries without exception. The account number in the Stormpay payment system is an email address. Its main drawback is the inability to convert funds from a Stormpay account to E-gold, WebMoney or Rupay. This payment system allows you to transfer funds to credit cards.

PayPal- electronic payment system, one of the most popular and reliable among foreign payment systems. By early 2006, it served users from 55 countries. PayPal was founded by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin in 1998 as a private company. PayPal provides its users with the ability to accept and send payments using email or a mobile phone with Internet access, but in addition, users of the PayPal payment system have the opportunity to:

send payments (Send Money): transfer any amount from your personal account. In this case, the recipient of the payment can be either another PayPal user or an outsider;

execute a request to receive payment (Money Request). Using this type of service, the user can send letters to his debtors containing a request for payment (issue an invoice for payment);

place on the website special tools for accepting payments (Web Tools). This service is only available to Premier and Business account holders and is recommended for use by online store owners. In this case, the user can place a button on his website, by clicking which the payer is taken to the payment system website, where he can complete the payment procedure (you can use a credit card), after which he returns to the user’s website;

use auction trading tools (Auction Tools). The payment system offers two types of services: 1) automatic distribution of requests to receive payment (Automatic Payment Request); 2) auction winners can make payments directly from the website where the auction is held (Instant Purchase for Auctions);

carry out financial transactions using a mobile phone (Mobile Payments);

make simultaneous payments to a large number of users (Batch Pay);

carry out daily transfer of funds to a bank account (Auto-Sweep).

In the future, the possibility of receiving interest for storing funds in the account is being considered.

Moneybookers- electronic payment system, opened in 2003. Despite its relative youth, it successfully competes in many areas with such a giant as PayPal. The main advantage of this payment system can be considered its versatility. Moneybookers is easy to use for both individuals and owners of online stores and banks. Unlike PayPal, the Moneybookers payment system serves users in more than 170 countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Moneybookers features:

installation of additional software is not required for operation;

The Moneybookers user account number is the email address;

the minimum transfer amount to Moneybookers is 1 euro cent (or the equivalent in another currency);

the ability to automatically send funds on a schedule without user participation;

the system commission is 1% of the payment amount and is deducted from the sender.

1.Digital money. Concept of electronic money Digital (hereinafter referred to as electronic) money completely simulates real money. At the same time, the issuing organization - the issuer - issues their electronic analogues, called differently in different systems (for example, coupons). Next, they are purchased by users, who use them to pay for purchases, and then the seller redeems them from the issuer. When issued, each monetary unit is certified by an electronic seal, which is verified by the issuing structure before redemption. One of the features of physical money is its anonymity, that is, it does not indicate who used it and when. Some systems, by analogy, allow the buyer to receive electronic cash in such a way that the connection between him and the money cannot be determined. This is done using a blind signature scheme. It is also worth noting that when using electronic money, there is no need for authentication, since the system is based on the release of money into circulation before its use. Below is the payment scheme using digital money. The buyer exchanges real money for electronic money in advance. The client can store cash in two ways, which is determined by the system used: On the computer’s hard drive. On smart cards. Different systems offer different exchange schemes. Some open special accounts to which funds from the buyer’s account are transferred in exchange for electronic bills. Some banks may issue electronic cash themselves. At the same time, it is issued only at the request of the client, followed by its transfer to the computer or card of this client and the withdrawal of the cash equivalent from his account. When implementing a blind signature, the buyer himself creates electronic bills, sends them to the bank, where, when real money arrives in the account, they are certified by a seal and sent back to the client. Along with the convenience of such storage, it also has disadvantages. Damage to a disk or smart card results in irreversible loss of electronic money. The buyer transfers electronic money for the purchase to the seller’s server. The money is presented to the issuer, who verifies its authenticity. If the electronic bills are genuine, the seller’s account is increased by the purchase amount, and the goods are shipped to the buyer or the service is provided.
One of the important distinguishing features of electronic money is the ability to make micropayments. This is due to the fact that the denomination of the banknotes may not correspond to real coins (for example, 37 kopecks). Both banks and non-banking organizations can issue electronic cash. However, a unified system for converting different types of electronic money has not yet been developed. Therefore, only the issuers themselves can redeem the electronic cash they issued. In addition, the use of such money from non-financial structures is not guaranteed by the state. However, the low transaction cost makes electronic cash an attractive tool for online payments. Credit systems Internet credit systems are analogues of conventional systems that work with credit cards. The difference is that all transactions are conducted over the Internet, and as a result, the need for additional security and authentication measures. The general payment scheme in such a system is shown in the figure. The following are involved in making payments via the Internet using credit cards: Buyer. A client with a computer with a Web browser and Internet access. Issuing bank. The buyer's bank account is located here. The issuing bank issues cards and is the guarantor of the client’s financial obligations. Sellers. Sellers are understood as E-Commerce servers where catalogs of goods and services are maintained and customer purchase orders are accepted. Acquiring banks. Banks serving sellers. Each seller has a single bank in which he keeps his current account. Internet payment system. Electronic components that act as intermediaries between other participants. Traditional payment system. A set of financial and technological means for servicing cards of this type. Among the main tasks solved by the payment system is ensuring the use of cards as a means of payment for goods and services, using banking services, conducting mutual offsets, etc. Participants in the payment system are individuals and legal entities united through the use of credit cards. Payment system processing center. An organization that provides information and technological interaction between participants in the traditional payment system. Settlement bank of the payment system. A credit organization that carries out mutual settlements between payment system participants on behalf of the processing center.
The buyer in the electronic store creates a basket of goods and selects the payment method “credit card”. Next, the credit card parameters (number, owner's name, expiration date) must be transferred to the Internet payment system for further authorization. This can be done in two ways: through the store, that is, the card parameters are entered directly on the store’s website, after which they are transferred to the Internet payment system (2a); on the payment system server (2b). The advantages of the second way are obvious. In this case, information about the cards does not remain in the store, and, accordingly, the risk of receiving them by third parties or being deceived by the seller is reduced. In both cases, when transferring credit card details, there is still a possibility of them being intercepted by attackers on the network. To prevent this, data is encrypted during transmission. Encryption, naturally, reduces the possibility of data interception on the network, so it is advisable to carry out communications between buyer/seller, seller/Internet payment system, buyer/Internet payment system using secure protocols. The most common of them today is the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol. It is based on an asymmetric public key encryption scheme, and the RSA algorithm is used as the encryption scheme. Due to the technical and licensing features of this algorithm, it is considered less reliable, so the standard for secure electronic transactions SET (Secure Electronic Transaction) is now being gradually introduced, designed to eventually replace SSL when processing transactions related to payments for credit card purchases on the Internet. Among the advantages of the new standard are increased security, including the ability to authenticate all participants in transactions. Its disadvantages are technological difficulties and high cost. The Internet payment system transmits the authorization request to the traditional payment system. The next step depends on whether the issuing bank maintains an online database of accounts. If there is a database, the processing center sends the issuing bank a request for card authorization (4b) and then (4a) receives its result. If there is no such database, then the processing center itself stores information about the status of cardholders’ accounts, stop lists and fulfills authorization requests. This information is regularly updated by the issuing banks. The authorization result is transmitted to the Internet payment system. The store receives the authorization result. The buyer receives the authorization result through the store (7a) or directly from the Internet payment system (7b). If the authorization result is positive, the store provides the service or ships the product (8a); the processing center transmits information about the completed transaction to the settlement bank (8b). Money from the buyer's account with the issuing bank is transferred through the settlement bank to the store's account with the acquiring bank. In most cases, special software is required to make such payments. It can be supplied to the buyer (called an electronic wallet), the seller and his servicing bank. For example, consider the WebMoney Transfer electronic payment system.

4. Popularity of digital money. Development prospects According to some analysts, electronic payment methods will soon completely replace cash and checks from the market, since they represent a more convenient way to pay for goods and services. According to ABA/Dove estimates, electronic payments may soon replace cash and checks, since today every second purchase in a store is made using electronic means of payment. Cash remains the main means of payment in traditional stores for only 33% of shoppers. While the majority of online purchases are made with credit cards, nearly half of respondents use checks and money orders for e-commerce, and a quarter of virtual shoppers use P2P payments. Two-thirds of consumers pay at least one monthly bill electronically, including credit/debit cards, direct payments, or online banking. Analysts believe that online bill payment will reach significant volumes by 2003 as the majority of users begin to use or increase their use of this payment option. At the same time, the use of “paper” payments will be significantly reduced - 21% of respondents said that they intend to stop paying their bills by check. At the same time, Yankee Group analysts note that 8.7% of American consumers now pay their bills online, up from 5.1% last year. Marketing efforts are starting to pay off: 29% of consumers have already expressed interest in using electronic bill payment systems (EBPP), and 14.9% cite time savings as a primary motivator. However, experts warn that banks will face competition from financial service providers in this area, given that a provider that provides users with a convenient and simple interface will be able to retain them for a long time. Growth in “Business to consumer” e-commerce turnover in Russia, million dollars (according to The Economist, Boston Consulting Group):
Growth of e-commerce in the “Business to consumer” sector, billion dollars (according to eMarketer):
Share of e-commerce in US GDP (GDP) (according to eMarketer):

Active Internet audience in Russia according to ROCIT, million people:
Since their formation on the Russian market, exchanges and trading platforms have been using modern technologies, creating systems that are unique in their characteristics almost from scratch, trying to cover the entire market, all regions of the Russian Federation. Developing in line with advanced global trends, organized e-commerce is becoming increasingly attractive in the global market. Prerequisites have emerged for the rapprochement and connection of trading platforms both within Russia and abroad. Today, information technologies determine the face of the global financial market. World financial markets are becoming more global, and Russia is moving in line with this process. The challenge of the time is the internationalization of the world economy, which today acts as a globally integrated economic system. Our country is about to take an important step - to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). A necessary condition for joining the WTO is Russia's integration into the international financial market. Therefore, speaking about the prospects for the development of the Russian market, one of the main stages can be identified as integration into the infrastructure of the world capital market. This work has already begun. Electronic technologies are developing rapidly. Today it is difficult to imagine our life without the Internet. Over the past few years, the popularity of trading company shares via the Internet has grown rapidly around the world. Individual investors have the opportunity to enter into transactions essentially without leaving home. In 1999, the development of Internet trading on the Russian stock market began. The total volume of transactions via the Internet on the Russian market is constantly growing, and according to some estimates, already in 2001 it amounted to about 40% of the total turnover of the stock market. For example, in December 2001, already about 47% of trading volume and about 70% of transactions on the MICEX stock market were concluded via the Internet. Trading via the Internet is today the easiest and most convenient access for private investors in the financial markets. With the spread of Internet trading, the number of small-volume transactions began to increase. In other words, client activity in the stock market and the share of client transactions in total turnover are growing at a faster pace. It is interesting to note that the leaders in the introduction and promotion of Internet trading on the Russian stock market were not large, but dynamic brokerage companies, which are now consistently among the top ten market participants in terms of turnover. At the same time, large brokerage companies and banks began to develop the new service much later. Today's realities are such that it is not the “big” company that wins, but the “fast” company. Having started on the stock market for a number of reasons, Internet trading is now confidently developing in other sectors of the financial market: government securities; currency; urgent. In the future, the development of Internet trading will be determined by the following main trends. First of all, both the range of markets and traded instruments offered within the framework of Internet trading systems, as well as the service offered and the range of additional services for clients based on their full automation, will expand. We will see a closer interconnection within the framework of one Internet system of the functions of banking systems, Internet trading and depository and back-office service systems. In addition, the process of expanding analytical and information support for clients based on integration with information and analytical Internet systems developed by information agencies will continue more actively. Given the low level of development of telecommunication networks, especially in the regions of Russia, of course, one of the priority areas of development will be improving the quality of work and improving the consumer properties of Internet trading systems. The solution to this problem lies not only in the area of improving the applied hardware and software of Internet trading systems, but also in the area of creating a new generation of systems that can significantly expand the technological capabilities of customer service and improve the quality of their work. A very important factor influencing the development of Internet business in financial markets in the very near future, with the advent of the appropriate regulatory framework, will undoubtedly be the need for the mandatory use of certified information security software and electronic digital signatures in remote access systems via the Internet. On January 10, 2002, President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin signed the Federal Law “On Electronic Digital Signature”, aimed at ensuring legal conditions for the use of electronic digital signatures in electronic documents, subject to which an electronic digital signature in an electronic document is recognized as equivalent to a handwritten signature in a document on on paper. With the advent of Internet technologies, a real need arose to connect the disparate technological links of the customer service process into a single chain. Investors can now use automated systems to monitor the entire investment process and manage their assets in real time. This approach requires constant modernization of software products and all systems for various functional purposes with the possibility of their information interconnection in real time or their integration into single multifunctional software and hardware complexes. Conclusion A superficial analysis of Internet technologies for business, an integral part of which are online payment systems, allows us to draw the following conclusions: 1. Issuers of digital money are systems that organize Internet transactions. 2. Systems for issuing digital money are of at least two types: those that issue electronic cash immediately upon receipt of real money in the bank account of the system and those that issue only when and for the period of payment. 3. Digital money is money issued backed by real money. 4. The turnover rate of digital money is the highest today. 5. Traditional credit and debit cards issued by banks for remote account access are not digital money as such. Even if the open card account is multi-currency, it is not directly related to digital money, since it is opened in any base currency. And its multicurrency nature is expressed in the fact that when paying with a plastic card, it is possible to instantly convert the base currency into the payment currency. 6. Non-cash money also cannot be directly called digital money, despite the fact that its medium is electronic. Since their analogue exists in cash form. 7. Digital money allows you to make micropayments and, when a sufficient amount is accumulated, convert them into real money.

List of information sources: 1. Official website of the WebMoney Transfer payment system – http://www.webmoney.ru 2. Official website of the analytical agency RosBusinessConsulting – http://www.rbc.ru 3. Internet resource – http://www.i2r.ru 4 Website of the PayWell payment system - http://www.paywell.ru 5. “Banks and banking systems” member of the International Academy of Informatization, member of the scientific and expert council of the Committee on Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship of the State Duma of the Russian Federation V. Yurovitsky – http://www.yur.ru 6. Ozone online store – http://www.ozone.ru 7. “Where does the money go” member of the International Academy of Informatization member of the scientific expert council of the Committee on Economic Policy and entrepreneurship of the State Duma of the Russian Federation V. Yurovitsky - http://www.yur.ru 8. Information site "Electronic money. Payment systems on the Internet" - http://www.pay-system.info 9. Official information site "Business Technologies to the Internet", 1997-2006, Internet Payment Systems Group - "Internet Payment Systems" - http://emoney.ru/menu.asp 10. Official information site "Business", - section: Business from and to. - 2008, http://business.rin.ru

With the development of credit circulation, electronic money appears, which has certain advantages compared to paper:

increasing the speed of transfer of payment documents;
simplification of processing of bank correspondence;
reducing the cost of processing payment documentation.

In economic literature electronic money is defined as:

money in computer memory accounts of banks, which are managed using a special electronic device;
electronic storage of monetary value using a technical device;
a new means of payment that allows for payment transactions and does not require access to deposit accounts;
an open-ended monetary obligation of a financial credit institution, expressed in electronic form, certified by an electronic digital signature and repayable at the time of presentation in ordinary money, etc.

In international practice are prepaid or store of value financial products in which fund or value information is stored on an electronic device.

Electronic money - in a broad sense words are considered as a set of subsystems of cash (issue is carried out without opening personal accounts) and non-cash money (issue is carried out with the opening of personal accounts) or as a system of monetary settlements through the use of electronic technology.

Electronic money - in the narrow sense represent a subsystem of cash issued by banks or specialized credit institutions. The main difference here is that it is not necessary to use a bank account when making a payment, when the transaction is carried out from the payer to the recipient without the participation of the bank.

Properties of electronic money

Main characteristics of electronic money:

the monetary value is recorded on an electronic device;
it can be used for a variety of payments;
payment is final.

Nevertheless, the issue of independently identifying electronic money as a separate type remains debatable, as does their definition, role and functions.

In modern times, electronic money is fiat money, have a credit basis, perform the functions of a means of payment, circulation, accumulation, and have a guarantee. The basis for issuing electronic money into circulation is cash and non-cash money. Electronic money acts as a monetary obligation of the issuer when servicing non-cash turnover as a requirement for it. They can be considered as an element of the monetary aggregate. Automatic maintenance of bank accounts (crediting and debiting funds, transfers from account to account, interest calculation, monitoring the status of settlements) is carried out electronically (electronic transfers). Tools for electronic access to accounts are constantly evolving, however, money is still presented in the form of account records.

Calculations on the Internet. "Network" electronic money

electronic transfers between user accounts;
buy, sell and exchange electronic currencies:
pay for services (Internet access, cellular communications, hosting, apartment, etc.);
transfer funds to a credit or debit card.

WebmoneyTransfer - payment system, which appeared on November 25, 1998, is the most widespread and reliable Russian electronic payment system for conducting financial transactions in real time, created for users of the Russian-speaking part of the World Wide Web. Anyone can become a user of the system. The means of payment in the system are title units called WebMoney, or WM for short. All WM is stored in so-called electronic wallets. The most common types of wallets are:

WMZ - dollar wallets;
WMR - ruble wallets;
WME - wallets for storing euros;
WMU - wallets for storing Ukrainian hryvnia.

The WebMoney Transfer payment system allows you to:

carry out financial transactions and pay for goods (services) on the Internet;
pay for the services of mobile operators, Internet and television providers, pay for subscriptions to the media;
exchange WebMoney title units for other electronic currencies at a favorable rate;
make payments by email, use your mobile phone as a wallet;
owners of online stores accept payments for goods on their website.

There are several ways to replenish your WM wallet:

by bank transfer (including through Sberbank of the Russian Federation);
postal transfer;
using the Western Union system;
by exchanging rubles or currency for WM at an authorized bank or exchange office;
by receiving WM from any of the system participants in exchange for services, goods or in exchange for cash;
using a prepaid WM card;
through the E-Gold system.

RUpay- The payment system, operating since October 7, 2002, is an integrator of payment systems, where payment systems and exchange offices are programmatically combined into one system.

Main features of the RUpay payment system:

making electronic transfers between user accounts;
buy, sell and exchange electronic currencies with a minimum commission;
make payments to other electronic payment systems: WebMoney, PayPal, E-gold, etc.;
accept payments on your website in more than 20 ways;
receive funds from the system account at the nearest ATM;
manage your account from any computer connected to the Internet."

PayCash- electronic payment system. It began its work on the Russian market in early 1998, positioned primarily as an accessible means of fast, efficient and secure cash payments on the Internet.

E- gold- an electronic payment system created in 1996 by Gold&Silver Reserve (G&SR). E-gold is an American electronic money settlement system, the main currency of which is precious metals - gold, platinum, silver, etc., and this currency is physically backed by the corresponding metal. The system is completely international, works with all currencies of the world, and anyone can gain access to it. The reliability of this payment system is guaranteed by US and Swiss banks. The main difference between the e-gold payment system is that all funds are physically backed by precious metals stored in Nova Scotia Bank (Toronto). The number of users of the c-gold payment system in 2006 was about 3 million people. The main advantages of the e-gold payment system are as follows:

internationality - regardless of place of residence, any user has the opportunity to open an account in e-gold:
anonymity - when opening an account, there are no mandatory requirements for indicating the user’s real personal data;
ease and intuitiveness - the interface is intuitive and user-friendly;
no additional software installation required;
versatility - the wide distribution of this payment system allows it to be used for almost any financial transaction.

You can receive or cash out money by ordering a bank transfer on the E-gold website, making a transfer to other systems (PayPal, WebMoney, Western Union) or to any credit or debit card.

send payments (Send Money): transfer any amount from your personal account. In this case, the recipient of the payment can be either another PayPal user or an outsider;
execute a request to receive payment (Money Request). Using this type of service, the user can send letters to his debtors containing a request for payment (issue an invoice for payment);

use auction trading tools (Auction Tools). The payment system offers two types of services: 1) automatic distribution of requests to receive payment (Automatic Payment Request); 2) auction winners can make payments directly from the website where the auction is held (Instant Purchase for Auctions);
carry out financial transactions using a mobile phone (Mobile Payments);
make simultaneous payments to a large number of users (Batch Pay);
carry out daily transfer of funds to a bank account (Auto-Sweep).

In the future, the possibility of receiving interest for storing funds in the account is being considered.

installation of additional software is not required for operation;
The Moneybookers user account number is the email address;
The minimum transfer amount to Moneybookers is 1 euro cent (or the equivalent in another currency);
the ability to automatically send funds on a schedule without user participation;
the system commission is 1% of the payment amount and is deducted from the sender.

Many modern users have heard the term “digital money”. But not everyone understands what it is. But you need to know about this. After all, digital technologies are an integral part of the life of a modern person. And electronic money is becoming more and more common in practice. But what is it? And how can you use these objects?

Terminology

Digital money is a system for storing various currencies using modern technologies. In particular computers.

In simple terms, electronic money refers to cash flows stored in so-called electronic wallets. We can say that this describes a currency that circulates not in the form of cash, but in electronic payment systems.

An electronic wallet is a storage of digital money. A set of data available to a financial organization that emphasizes a citizen’s right to use certain finances. Often, electronic wallets are simply called payment systems.

Flaws

What are the pros and cons of digital money? Let's start with the shortcomings. After all, every user should know about them. And at the same time we will dispel some myths.

The disadvantages of digital money include:

Legal regulation. In most countries, it is not yet entirely clear how to legally work with electronic media. In addition, there are official prohibitions on the use of digital money in some areas. For example, they will not be able to pay for the purchase of an apartment or car.
Daily life. Another very dubious drawback. Not everyone is familiar with digital money. And they can't be used everywhere. Some people claim that it will be possible to work without problems with electronic means only on the Internet. In practice this is not the case. Especially when you consider that the majority of electronic payment systems offer a special form of storing money (more on that later). This service allows you to freely use available funds.
Difficult to use. Digital money today is strongly tied to technological progress. Just a few years ago this feature was a serious drawback. For example, if a person’s internet or electricity is cut off, they will not be able to access funds.

We have studied the disadvantages of electronic money. But they also have enough advantages. After all, today users are working more and more with a similar interpretation of tools.

Positive sides

Now about the positives. Electronic money is very convenient. It is important to understand that the bulk of their shortcomings are already being perfectly eliminated. In particular, if you choose a good storage facility.

So, the advantages of digital money include:

Mobility. For digital media there is no concept of size. In addition, a person will always be able to use his money. All funds will be at hand. This is very captivating. You no longer need to stand in line to pay receipts and taxes; you can easily transfer money anywhere in the world.
Full automation. There is no human factor when working with digital money. All operations are performed by computers and then recorded. In electronic payment systems there is no concept of change. And thanks to saving the history of transactions, a person will be able to understand where this or that money went.
Safety. It is almost impossible to lose electronic funds. They will not be stolen from your hands, and a person will not forget where he put them. All finances are stored in a special electronic wallet. Electronic money can only be lost if the corresponding storage facility is hacked. Fortunately, such situations are extremely rare.
Freedom. When working with digital finance, the user may not provide information about himself. For most operations, it is enough to know the account details of the recipient of the funds.
Comfort of use. Today, technological progress does not stand still. And now digital money can be used almost everywhere. The main thing is to choose the right e-wallet. Paying digitally is allowed wherever there is cashless payment.

As you can already see, the components being studied have a lot of advantages. But what else do users need to know? How to work with electronic money and wallets?

Examples of digital media

It is important to understand that electronic money is different. And they all allow you to work with different currencies. Therefore, it is not entirely clear how digital media differ. It is customary to classify them by storage systems.

Let's look at the most common types. Examples of digital money:

cryptocurrency;
"Yandex money";
PayPal;
Qiwi;
Webmoney.

These are not all types of electronic media. But users work with the listed options most often.

Blurred concept

The definition of digital money is vague. On the one hand, we found out what it is. On the other hand, some people claim that any non-cash transactions are actions with electronic means. Is it really?

Yes and no. After all, many banks offer Internet banking. In this case, the funds will be stored in an account opened in advance, and management will be carried out using computer technology. Therefore, it is not always possible to understand what digital tools are.

But as we have already said, this term is usually used to describe money stored on an electronic wallet. It is with this interpretation that we will work further.

About wallets and their use

We found out what electronic money is. An electronic wallet is a repository of relevant finances. Such payment systems are in great demand. Especially when shopping online.

Electronic wallets, like money, are diverse. Most often, people work with the systems "WebMoney", "Yandex. Money", "Qiwi", "PayPal". How can I use a wallet of one type or another?

The main functionality of the digital (electronic) money storage includes:

Almost like a regular wallet with money! The difference is that cash does not appear in this case. Cashless payments only.

Under certain circumstances, the user can cash out digital funds. For example, by making a money transfer via the Contact system.

Types of wallets

It is also important to understand that modern electronic wallets try to protect as much as possible. To achieve this, payment systems introduce various restrictions and several types of accounts.

The most common among them are:

initial (anonymous);
standard, formal (nominal);
confirmed.

In the first case, the citizen does not provide any information about himself. Such wallets are severely limited in terms of storage limits in the account, transactions and amounts that can be withdrawn from the account per day/week/month. Formal certificates (profiles) require the user to upload passport data and provide personal information. This is the most common scenario. The wallet has large limits, but not all restrictions have been removed from it yet.

Confirmed accounts allow you to work with all options of a particular wallet. In this case, restrictions will be minimal. Usually you have to confirm your identity at the payment system service center (for example, in Euroset communication stores). Such certificates are used by individual entrepreneurs.

About media

As we have already said, previously electronic funds were very problematic to use. But now this problem has been eliminated in many payment systems. The thing is that digital money can be stored on different media.

The following scenarios are possible:

electronic invoice (required);
bank card linked to the wallet;
virtual card.

When opening an electronic wallet, the user is required to be issued a special account (like a bank account). This is the money depository.

Many services like Yandex.Money allow you to create special bank cards linked to an electronic account. Under such circumstances, all the money in the wallet immediately ends up on the card. It is very comfortable! Thanks to this feature, digital funds are now almost no different from money stored on a bank card of a regular bank.

A virtual card is an analogue of a physical medium. Used for ease of use on the Internet. With the help of such “plastic” you can pay for purchases on the Internet with special comfort. A striking example of such a product is the WebMoney card.

Beginning of work

How to get started with an electronic wallet and digital money? It is enough to register in one or another payment system.

For example, you can do this:

Go to the Webmoney website.
Click on the "Registration" button.
Provide your mobile phone number.
Click on the "Continue" button.
Fill out the registration form. Here you must indicate the e-mail that will be linked to the wallet.
Create a login password and repeat it.
Click on the "Register" button.
Confirm the operation. To do this, you need to enter a special code sent by SMS.

That's all. Now the user will have a "WebMoney" wallet. The user will see his account, which will allow him to work with digital means. In your “Personal Account” you can upload scans of your passport and receive a formal certificate.

Virtual card

The WebMoney card can be issued only after the user gets rid of the anonymous profile. This means virtual “plastic”.

To order it you need:

Log in to your wallet.
Open the WM map page.
Click on the "Order" button.
Select the type of plastic.
Click on the "Next" button.
Indicate whether SMS notification is required.
Check the box next to "Confirm".
Click on the "Confirmation" button.
Pay for plastic through the "Merchant" system, indicating the details from your bank card.

Ready! Now you can use the virtual card. This task does not cause any difficulties.

Conclusion

In today's world, the future of digital money is uncertain. But we can say with confidence that most countries are trying to introduce such means and introduce laws that allow them to control relevant finances. Electronic payment services are improving every year.

Already, there is almost no difference between a bank card and plastic linked to an electronic wallet. This means that digital tools are in demand. They replace cash. Working with that kind of money is a pleasure!

It should be noted that electronic money in many educational publications is considered not as a separate type of money, but as a type of credit money (as well as plastic cards). Theoretically, this can be considered correct, but we considered it necessary to separate them into a separate type of money due to the uniqueness of their form, specific manifestations of functioning, active development and undoubted prospects. Electronic money is gradually beginning to crowd out credit money itself.

Electronic money was a product of the rapid development of economics and technology. Since the last quarter of the 20th century. they have become an actively developing reality. Their idea was first formulated in 1970 during the introduction of the first digital signature systems. Analysis of the evolution of forms and types of electronic money indicates that their form, appearance, functions and involvement in substitutes (surrogates) are changing.

Cash substitute, almost money (English) pear-topeu)– a substitute for full-fledged money, preserving its most important properties.

Money surrogate- a substitute for full-fledged money, which has only some of its properties and is introduced into circulation by business entities arbitrarily for the purpose of making payments.

So, from the late 60s to the second half of the 80s. XX century were used non-cash electronic money- first in the form of entries on accounts in bank computers, then in the form of electronic impulses on a plastic card. The first non-cash electronic money was a monetary substitute, and its functions were reduced to traditional ones - a measure of value, a means of payment and a means of storage. But plastic cards no longer serve as a store of value - they are a money surrogate.

In the early 1990s and the first half of the 2000s. appeared cash electronic money in the form of electronic impulses on a technical device (electronic wallet, digital money). Already in 1995, 90% of all bank payments in the United States were carried out electronically. Currently, electronic money circulates in 37 countries around the world. In Europe, there is the Electronic Money Institute (ELMI), which controls the issuance of electronic money. Now electronic money plays the role of a monetary substitute, performing almost all the functions of money - not only a measure of value, a means of circulation and payment, but also a means of storage.

Electronic money (electronic money)– these are the monetary obligations of the issuer in electronic form, which are on an electronic medium at the user’s disposal. They are issued by the issuer upon receipt of funds from other persons in the amount of the issued monetary value and are accepted as a means of payment by other (besides the issuer) organizations.

Similar interpretations of electronic money were proposed by specialists from the European Central Bank, the Bank for International Settlements, Directive of the European Parliament of September 18, 2000 No. 2000/46/EC, and individual economists (B. Friedman, M. King, B. Cohen, O. Issing, C. Goodhart, M. Woodford, L. Meyer). Basically, electronic money is defined as “the electronic storage of monetary value using a technical device for making payments not only to the issuer, but also to other participants.” By technical we mean an electronic device belonging to the holder (a card with a microprocessor or a PC hard drive).

In Russia, the regulatory document for the electronic payment industry is the Federal Law of June 27, 2011 No. 161-FZ “On the National Payment System”. It establishes the definition of electronic money (EMF), formulates basic requirements for the transfer of EMF, as well as for electronic money operators. The legal definition of electronic money is as follows: " Electronic cash– funds that are previously provided by one person... to another person, taking into account information about the amount of funds provided without opening a bank account... to fulfill the monetary obligations of the person who provided the funds to third parties and in relation to which the person who provided the funds funds, has the right to transmit orders exclusively using electronic means of payment" (Article 3 of the Law).

As you can see, one of the signs of electronic money is its transfer without opening a bank account. Translation of EDS is carried out electronic money operator. An electronic money operator in Russia can only be a bank (credit organization), including a non-bank credit organization that has the right to carry out money transfers without opening bank accounts and other banking operations related to them (Article 12 of the Law). At the beginning of 2014, 82 electronic money operators were registered in the Russian Federation.

It should be distinguished from electronic money electronic means of payment. This is a means and (or) method that allows a client of a money transfer operator to draw up, certify and transmit orders for the purpose of transferring funds within the framework of applicable forms of non-cash payments using information and communication technologies, electronic storage media, including payment cards, as well as other technical devices.

Thus, two technological types of electronic money can be distinguished - based on prepaid smart cards (smait card-based) and on base prepaid software products using computer networks (network-based). Card-based money is called electronic wallets (e-purses), and based on networks - digital cash.

Since mid-2014, prepaid bank cards can only be used for electronic money transactions. The most well-known card-based systems are Visa Cash, Proton, Mondex, private payment systems CLIP, WebMoney, Yandex.Money, RBK Money, Single (QIWI) wallet, PayPal, e-Gold, i-Free, etc. Electronic money itself represents is the electronic equivalent of real money. For example, the electronic money of the WebMoney system is equivalent to dollars, rubles and euros; money in the e-Gold system is the equivalent of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum).

In Russia, the law allows the use of the following electronic means of payment (electronic wallets): unpersonalized(anonymous), personalized And corporate electronic wallets. Limits and restrictions are established on volumes and transactions, as well as on transfers between wallets. Without personal identification, you can transfer up to 15 thousand rubles. No more than 40 thousand rubles can be transferred anonymously per month. More than 100 thousand rubles. cannot even be in a personalized electronic wallet. It is prohibited to transfer funds from corporate electronic wallets to anonymous ones and transfers between corporate wallets, but transferring money from a corporate to a personalized wallet is allowed. Interest is not accrued on the balance of electronic funds. Replenishment of electronic wallets can occur through terminals, via the Internet, GPRS, mobile phones.

Foreign IT companies are developing new generation electronic wallets. A new technology is being created that makes it possible to combine all payment and credit plastic cards of one owner within a single gadget integrated with a smartphone.

As part of the development of electronic payment systems, a project is being implemented universal electronic citizen card (UEC), provided for by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation of July 27, 2010 No. 210-FZ “On the organization of the provision of state and municipal services”. This card gives citizens access to the entire range of government electronic services. In addition to the payment (banking) application, the card has pension, medical, educational, transport and other social applications. It is also planned to introduce electronic passport.

Electronic money is only part of the overall system of electronic payment systems, which together embody the active dematerialization of money. The structure of the market for electronic payment systems (EPS) in Russia is presented in Fig. 1.3.

Rice. 1.3.

In order to ensure the stable development of the electronic money market in Russia, a non-profit partnership has been operating since 2009 - the Electronic Money Association (AED), which unites the leading participants in the electronic payment market, representing about 80% of the Russian market (WebMoney, Yandex.Money, QIWI, i-Free), as well as national industrial associations NAUET (National Association of Electronic Commerce Participants) and NAMIR (National Partnership of Microfinance Market Participants).

The market for electronic payment systems in Russia is very dynamic. Almost every year it practically doubled. Market turnover by the end of 2017 will expand to 3.7 trillion rubles.

Technically, the market consists of two segments − remote financial services and terminals. Terminals And ATMs are a popular service channel. They account for approximately half of all payments. Despite the fact that since 2006 Russia has doubled the number of ATMs and tripled the number of POS terminals, it ranks 18th and 43rd in the world in terms of the number of ATMs per 10 thousand people, respectively. The number of ATMs, electronic terminals, imprinters used to pay for goods and services with payment cards, as of October 1, 2013, amounted to 1,314.0 thousand devices. Through them, transactions worth 3.5 trillion rubles were carried out. – for one resident of Russia this is 24.7 thousand rubles. Popular non-bank terminals are terminals of the QIWI, CyberPlat and ElecsNet systems, banking terminals are terminals of Sberbank, Promsvyazbank, Moscow Credit Bank, Russian Standard Bank.

However, the share of turnover of payment terminals will gradually decrease – according to expert estimates, by 2017 to 30%. Accordingly, the value will increase remote services. These are mobile operator payment services, mobile banking, SMS banking, Internet banking, electronic wallets. The turnover of remote services accounts for half of the entire market of electronic payment systems.

The number of accounts with remote access opened in banks of the Russian Federation for individuals and legal entities as of October 1, 2013 amounted to 102.9 million accounts. Of these, 40.7 million accounts are opened with access via the Internet and 28.8 million accounts are opened through mobile phones. Of the 4 billion electronic transactions completed per year (including the use of payment cards), payments using the Internet and mobile phones account for a fifth in quantity and almost two-thirds in volume.

Internet banking is a type of remote banking service with access to accounts and transactions at any time and from any computer with Internet access. For banks, the benefits of Internet services are undeniable - this is a non-capital-intensive type of business that allows you to save on staff costs and software installation costs. Internet banking is available even to small and small banks. The reasons for using Internet banking for clients are also obvious - expanding the number of services, access to a larger volume of information, reducing transaction costs and the most valuable resource - time, confidentiality of transactions, better control of personal accounts, etc.

Despite the fact that in Russia now 46% of citizens use the Internet (in addition to email) daily or several times a week, a small contingent turns to Internet banking. According to The Economist and the Bank of Russia, Internet banking users still account for only 14% of the total number of Internet users in Russia (in the USA - 45%, in Poland - 50%, in France, Canada - 60%). Less than 8% of bank payments are made via the Internet. The range of Internet services is not very wide. Basically it comes down to obtaining payment history and account balance. Not all banks provide opening and blocking a deposit, obtaining a consumer loan, re-issuing a card and other opportunities. According to experts, the Russian segment of Internet banking may grow to 1.6-1.8 trillion rubles by 2017.

Mobile banking (mobile banking) is an extremely promising service channel. This is a service that allows you to monitor the status of a bank account and manage it using a mobile terminal using wireless access technologies. More and more banks are releasing mobile financial applications. In this case, tablet computers, smartphones, and regular phones are used on all modern platforms - iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Phone 7 and 8.

The development of the market for contactless payments using a mobile phone as a multifunctional means of payment has great prospects. Convenient and comfortable services include payments for cellular communications, the Internet, provider services and housing and communal services, searching for an ATM, transferring from card to card, between accounts, including in other banks, and currency exchange. The most well-functioning mobile banks in Russia based on smartphones operate at VTB24, Bank St. Petersburg, Moscow Industrial Bank, Russian Standard Bank, Promsvyazbank.

Customers who have switched to mobile banking are less likely to use Internet banking via a desktop computer. The number of individual accounts opened in Russian banks and with access through a mobile phone is approaching 30 million. By 2015, 63 million people will use the mobile Internet from smartphones, and 12 million people from tablets.

Today, most credit institutions have a minimum virtual office program. The development of broadband access and the widespread adoption of smartphones and tablets have made the service more accessible and widespread.

In the summer of 2013, Sberbank of the Russian Federation announced the launch of a modern service complex, which includes seven models: a call from the site, a multifunctional BigPad tablet, mobile applications and the SBOL Internet bank (Sberbank Online), ATMs and terminals, Internet kiosks , virtual rooms and mini-computers for VIP clients. The attributes of the updated service model will become available both in the offices of the credit institution (for example, Internet kiosks) and from clients’ mobile devices. Clients can make video calls to the bank from devices running iOS and Android platforms.

At the end of the 20th century. Such exotic dematerialized currencies as digital gold and virtual cryptocurrencies also appeared. Digital gold(English) digital gold currency) is a type of Internet currency based on precious metals. gold based internet currencies), introduced in 1995. The typical unit of account for digital money is the gram of gold or troy ounce. Digital gold is backed by stocks of gold, silver or platinum accepted for storage. The amount of available electronic money is fixed in terms of the equivalent of gold units (grams). You can then spend available electronic money to purchase foreign currency or goods, or receive pseudo-currency from other participants in the system. Digital currency is also used by electronic payment services companies to make mutual payments in units of the same value as a gold bar.

Digital gold is issued by private entities - for example, Gold Limited, GoldMoney. com, E-billion.com. It is believed that deposits in the form of digital gold protect against inflation, devaluation and other risks inherent in fiat currencies. But at the same time, digital money gives rise to other risks. Thus, the secrecy of information gives rise to doubts about the 100% backing of this money in precious metals. The OS-Gold pyramid is known, exposed in the physical absence of gold bars reserved for clients. At its peak, the system handled $2 billion in transactions per year.

Money laundering is possible through transactions with digital gold. There are also operational risks, including risks of information security and inadequate control. In general, this is a narrow niche of electronic means of payment that does not have significant prospects.