Electronic cash eliminating payment risk

• US 7,143,062 B2
• Filed: 06/28/1999
• Issued: 11/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GoldMoney, Inc.
• Original Assignee: GM Network Limited
• Inventors: Turk, Geoffrey, Turk, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty, Romain
• Application Number:
  US09/340,566
• Publication Number:
  US 20020004779A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,710 Days
• Field of Search: 705 38- 39, 705/26, 705/27, 705/28, 705/35, 705/65, 705/66, 705/67, 705 68- 69, 705/37, 705/42, 705/74, 235/379, 235/380
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/29 characterised by micropayments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3676 Balancing accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3678 e-cash details, e.g. blinded, divisible or detecting double spending
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0607 Regulated
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A system and method for permitting gold or other commodities to circulate as currency requires a network of system users that participate in financial transactions where payment is made in units of gold. The gold is kept in secure storage at a deposit site for the benefit of the users. The payments in gold are effected through a computer system having data storage and transaction processing programs that credit or debit the units of account of gold for the account of each system user. The system and method allows gold to circulate as an electronic payment through the global computer network (Internet) and/or private communication networks. The sum total of all circulating electronic gold (denominated in physical measures such as weights such as grams and/or ounces and fractions thereof) will equal the weight of all the gold held for safekeeping at the storage site(s) for the users of the system.

Claims

1. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a commodity-based system for conducting financial transactions, the system including at least one deposit site having secure facilities for storage of a quantity of fungible precious metal, said computer program product embodied on computer-readable medium and comprising code that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the following steps:

create an electronic data file having a unique serial number associated therewith, and store said electronic data file as one of a plurality of electronic data files;

identify an amount of the fungible precious metal represented by said electronic data file and store the identified amount as part of said electronic data file, the identified amount being no greater than a deposit of the fungible precious metal having been previously received at the secure facilities, whereby a total amount of fungible precious metal represented by the plurality of electronic data files is no greater than the quantity of fungible precious metal stored in the secure facilities;

identify a date associated with said electronic data file, said date indicating the date when said electronic data file was crated, and store the date as part of said electronic data file;

create a digital signature for authenticating said electronic data file, and store the digital signal as part of said electronic data file.

2. A computer program product in accordance with claim 1 wherein said computer data are digital data.

3. A computer program product in accordance with claim 1 wherein said precious metal comprises gold.