Others, like PayPal, enable users to tap into checking accounts as well. By the fall, Western Union claims that the Net public will be able to send or receive money from the company's real-world agents. EMoneyMail charges are about the same. EBay's Billpoint service is 35 cents, plus 3.5 percent of the value of the money being sent. They don't charge for their services.
Models based on per-transaction consumer revenue have no chance of success in the interim.
These companies' troubles don't end there, Van Dyke said. Services like eMoneyMail are doomed, because Bank One is assuming that its users will sign up and email money back and forth. But users of BankOne have nothing in common with each other. Mid-1990s high fliers like DigiCash, First Virtual, and CyberCash are either bankrupt or have gone through complete overhauls. Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.