Patent ID: 7206763

Claim:
An electronic commodity based system for conducting financial transactions, comprising: at least one deposit site having secure facilities for storage of a valuable commodity; an inventory of a valuable commodity stored in said secure facilities at a said deposit site, said inventory including a quantity of units of said valuable commodity held at said deposit site for at least one identified account; a computer system for processing data for accounting transactions denominated in said units of said valuable commodity, said computer system having at least one data storage device and data processing software that records a balance of units of valuable commodity credited to each said account; said software being operable to receive records of transactions transferring an interest in units of said valuable commodity from one account to another identified account; said records of transactions including at least an identification of a first account that will receive a debit, and a second account that will receive a credit, an amount of the interest in said units of said valuable commodity which is being credited to said second account, said records of transactions thereby up-dating data regarding the balance of units of valuable commodity credited to each said account; said electronic commodity based system permitting persons to conduct financial transactions without reliance on national currencies in conducting said financial transactions, whereby obligations, of a person receiving a said debit of said units of said valuable commodity of the person's account, to an other person receiving a said credit of said units of said valuable commodity to the other person's account, are extinguished upon posting of said records of transactions, thereby eliminating payment risk.