Electronic tokens must be able to be stored and retrieved. The tokens could be stored in any appropriate electronic device that might serve as an electronic wallet. Electronic tokens should be tamper- proof and be difficult to copy or forge. This characteristic prevents or detects duplication and double spending. Counterfeiting poses a particular problem, since a counterfeiter may, in network applications, be anywhere in the world and consequently be difficult to catch without appropriate international agreements.
Detection is essential to determine whether preventive measures are working.
Adapted from Cross Industry Working Team, Electronic Cash, Tokens, and Payments in the National Information Infrastructure, Corporation for National Research Initiatives, Reston, Va., 1994. Public interest in digital cash is driven largely by pressures for electronic commerce. Instant settlement when conducting financial transactions at a distance and reducing the cost of managing physical cash are still other advantages. Both cryptography and information technology, including computer hardware and software, underlie the feasibility of digital cash. Strong cryptographic technologies and secure network architectures are necessary to give users of a digital cash system confidence in its security and integrity, while the exponentially improving price- performance ratio of computer hardware is needed for the extensive computation required for strong cryptography in a mobile environment.