ICL turns against ecash

NEWS ICL has bucked the industry concensus by claiming there is no need for digital currency systems yet in ecommerce business models. The revelation prompted a speedy rebuttal from a Visa spokesman who said: "This is complete rubbish". Tom Connelly, ICL's business development director, was speaking at an ecommerce forum when he said: "We are never asked by our customers for anything outside credit card systems and see no reason to urge them to develop systems that incorporate ecash." Tony Moretta, senior manager of Visa's ecash systems division, Visa Cash, said: "We would completely disagree with this position - everyone else in the industry recognises that digital currency is inevitable." Connelly continued: "Digital currency is just not happening. Credit cards will for some time be totally sufficient for online and ecommerce payments." But this is at odds with a growing interest in electronic money systems. Software companies are developing products that support evolving ecash payments, and there are many trials going on in Europe that reflect the importance of electronic money in visions of future trading. Visa's Moretta said ICL customers that are discouraged from looking into digital currency systems will eventually suffer competitive disadvantages, "particularly in Europe as the single currency comes in, ecash systems development will be important to evolve into ecommerce".