The system hasn't yet been launched commercially, but Digital says internal tests of transactions across TCP/IP networks indicate the system can validate approximately 1000 requests per second, with TCP connection handling taking up most of the processing time. Digital sees the system as a way for companies to charge for information that Internet users obtain from Web sites.
Security, authentication, anonymity, and divisibility all have developers working to produce the collective answers that may open the floodgates to electronic commerce in the near future. The fact is that the electric-money genie is already out of the bottle. The market will demand electric money because of the accompanying new efficiencies that will shave costs in both consumer and supplier transactions. Consumers everywhere will want the bounty of a global marketplace, not one that's tied to bankers' hours. These efficiencies will push developers to overcome today's technical hurdles, allowing bits to replace paper as our most trusted medium of exchange.
…
