LOOKING FOR The CHILDREN OF MONDEX

Tim Jones, who was on loan from National Westminster Bank while serving as the first chief executive officer of Mondex, has returned to the Natwest staff in London. As managing director of electronic markets for the domestic banking group Natwest (UK), Mr. Jones said, he will be "looking for the sons and daughters of Mondex." "My job will be to spot the strategic implications of electronic commerce and follow the model of Mondex by actually participating . . . on the Internet and other new delivery systems," he said. Mr. Jones, 41, was co-inventor with Natwest colleague Graham Higgins of the Mondex electronic cash system. After a few years of tireless globetrotting for the cause, Mr. Jones stepped aside as CEO in July when Natwest officially incorporated Mondex International. Michael Keegan, Mr. Jones' former deputy, now oversees the international coordinating body owned by 17 banks, including Natwest, Wells Fargo Bank in the United States, and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Mr. Jones said he would not lose touch with his smart-card baby, however. He is a Mondex International director, and some of its technical functions still report to him. For the highly diversified Natwest, he will seek ways to bring wholesale and capital markets activities onto the more retail-oriented Internet footing. "In Mondex International, I have an interesting vehicle to take some other interesting proposals forward," he said.