Electronic currency also known as e-money, electronic cash, electronic money, digital money, digital cash or digital currency.
It refers to money or scrip which is exchanged only electronically. Typically, this involves use of computer networks, the internet and digital stored value systems. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and direct deposit are examples of electronic money. Also, it is a collective term for financial cryptography and technologies enabling it.
Typically electronic or digital money is a representation. It is a system of debits and credits, used to exchange value. It happened within another system or as a stand alone system. Which mean: online or offline.
Sometimes the term electronic money is used to refer to the provider itself. A private currency may use gold to provide extra security, such as digital gold currency. An e-currency system may be fully backed by gold. Example: e-gold and c-gold, non-gold backed, or both gold and non-gold backed such as e-Bullion and Liberty Reserve. On the other hand, some private organizations, such as the US military use private currencies such as Eagle Cash.
Many systems will sell their electronic currency directly to the end user, such as Paypal and WebMoney, but other systems, such as e-gold, sell only through third party digital currency exchangers.
In the case of Octopus Card in Hong Kong, deposits work similarly to banks'. After Octopus Card Limited receives money for deposit from users, the money is deposited into banks, which is similar to debit-card-issuing banks redepositing money at central banks.
Somecommunity currencies, like some LETS systems, work with electronic transactions. Cyclos Software allows creation of electronic community currencies. Ripple monetary system is a project to develop a distributed system of electronic money independent of local currency.
A soldier refills his Eagle Cash card at a kiosk
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