Internet Bank In Australia Plans a Pilot Using Ecash

Ecash, the cash alternative for the Internet developed by Digicash Inc., has entered Australia.

Digicash, which is based in Amsterdam, said Advance Bank of Sydney has licensed Ecash and is planning to begin testing it with Australian consumers and merchants by yearend.

Ecash's competitors include Cybercash Inc.'s Cybercoin and the on-line transfer capability of Mondex electronic cash. The latter, a smart-card- based system, has the backing of most major banks in Australia and New Zealand.

Advance Bank, a second-tier bank with more than $10 billion of assets, joins a list of Ecash licensees that includes Mark Twain Bank of St. Louis, Deutsche Bank in Germany, Merita Bank in Finland, and a postal bank in Sweden.

The Australian launching is "an important collaboration between the premier electronic cash company and the leading Internet bank in a country that is very advanced in Internet usage," said Digicash chairman and founder David Chaum.

Advance Bank is "reinforcing its position as Australia's leading Internet bank," said David Brown, the institution's head of public affairs. He said Ecash would complement customers' ability to see account statements, transfer money between accounts, and pay bills through Advance's Internet site.

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