Mondex, the smart-card-based electronic cash system developed by National Westminster Bank of London, has gone on the Internet.
Tim Jones, chief executive of Mondex, said at a recent conference in Chicago that it has established "pages" on the Internet's World Wide Web in preparation for electronic commerce over that global amalgam of computer networks.
While Mondex is moving toward initial market testing of point of sale purchases and card-to-card transfers, "we believe Mondex has a major role to play in the development of the Internet as a marketplace," Mr. Jones said.
"In the physical world, cash is the way people make the great majority of their payment transactions . . . and Mondex will provide an electronic equivalent of physical cash which can be spent in the supermarket or on the information superhighway," Mr. Jones said. "The multicurrency feature of Mondex means that retailers on the Internet will find it easier to accept the currency which is most convenient to the customer."
Mondex (address http://www.mondex.com) is joining a rush of card organizations onto the Internet.
Visa (www.visa.com) recently established an "ATM locator" on the web; MasterCard (www.mastercard.com) put up a series of "MasterCard Pointers" including automated teller machine locations and technology developments; both associations are working on security mechanisms to allow their cards to be used for purchases over the Internet.
Capital One Financial Corp., the credit card operation recently spun off by Signet Financial Corp., has established an Internet home page and is making a strong marketing pitch to the denizens of cyberspace.
Capital One placed an ad in Wired, the on-line culture magazine, making several arguments on its behalf, including: "Because it's a first . . . Because you can apply for a low 6.9% APR, no-fee Visa card on the net . . . Because you want to buy gizmos at 10 million places from C/olorado to Cancun to cyberspace."
In keeping with the spirit of the ad, the Internet address (www.capital1.com) is listed prominently. The conventional 800 number is in small print with the pricing technicalities.
