The New Money

Abstract

Professor Macintosh analyzes the strategic advantages and disadvantages of credit cards for buyers and sellers. She concludes that Internet commerce needs electronic money in order to achieve its full potential. Professor Macintosh further reasons that the Internet needs electronic currencies that can serve as universal media of exchange, global units of account, and stable stores of value. However, burdensome laws and regulations could delay, or even preclude, the emergence of electronic money. Professor Macintosh concludes that federal regulations and uniform state laws designed to combat money laundering should not apply to electronic payment products. Also, Congress and the state legislatures should work to repeal outdated laws that stand in the way of electronic money.