| 摘要 |
A method and apparatus for transacting for at least one of currency, goods or services with an anonymous electronic bearer instrument which is created or incremented by a vendor in exchange for currency tendered by an anonymous customer. The anonymous electronic bearer instrument, i.e., in the form of a card, permits the bearer to use a remote terminal, to purchase goods through any standard point-of sale device or to withdrawal of currency from an ATM. A customer selected unique bearer instrument identifier, such as a PIN, prohibits unauthorized use, and secures transactions. A bank-hosted central computer system stores data on unique bearer instrument numbers, unique bearer instrument identifiers, monetary balances, and currency codes; accepts initial and incremental deposits of currency from anonymous customers; and processes purchase transactions. The electronic instrument is anonymous, negotiable to the bearer (with knowledge of the unique bearer instrument identifier), secure (without knowledge of the unique bearer instrument identifier), reusable, and performs all the functions of a bank debit card.
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