"An ideal introduction to current research on "cashless payments"; an extensive bibliography makes the book valuable for researchers." -- Choice

• ContentsList of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Money: What it is and How it works; The Importance of Money; Other Views of Money; Is Electronic Money Really Different? Other New Payment Methods; 3. An Overview of Electronic Money-Its Forms and Functions, Standards and Design Issues; History of Smart Cards; Chips vs. Magstripe Cards; Software-based Electronic Money; Standards; Security Issues; The Need for a Dominant Design; Will a Dominant Design Emerge? Conclusions; 4. Innovation, Diffusion, and Electronic Money; Innovation and Diffusion; Rates of Adoption; Lessons to Be Learned; Network Economies; Conclusions; 5. Electronic Money Pilot Programs; The Mondex Pilots; The VisaCash Pilots; PROTON; Europay Clip; The Netherlands Program; Other Pilots and Programs; Closed Systems; Developing Countries; Lessons Learned from the Pilots; 6. Policy and Legal Issues of Electronic Money; Policy and Regulatory Issues; U.S. Current and Proposed Regulations; Basel Committee and theG-10 Proposals; Regulations in the G-10 Countries; Legal Framework Issues; Conclusions; 7. Final Thoughts and Conclusions; Are Americans Different? Payments in the U.S.; The Market for Electronic Money; Introduction of Other Payment Methods; Conclusions; Future Research Efforts; Bibliography; Index.