Electronic Commerce and Electronic Money - Co-operative efforts undertaken at the Bank for International
| Autor | Gregor C. Heinrich |
| Cargo | Head of Legal Research and International Cooperation. Legal Service. Bank for International Settlements. Basel, Suiza. |
Regardless of the real volume, the past and predicted increase in electronic commerce, and in particular its cross-border potential, raises questions of a technical, organisational, business and legal nature that were hitherto less prominent on the retail level. One of the challenges in electronic commerce is "electronic payment" for goods ordered through - and increasingly also delivered through - networks.
If we take for instance the information that is available on the web-site of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), http://www.bis.org : This information, in particular the publications of the BIS, is offered free of charge. If the Bank were to charge for it, we would be entering the realms of electronic commerce. In its full sense this means not only that information, documents or services are delivered to your PC but also that any remuneration for such delivery is effected via the computer, from the initiation of the payment order, all the way to the confirmation of such payment having been effected, including, of course inter-company and/or interbank settlement.
BIS as forum of cooperation among central banks
In this conference, we are analysing trends in electronic commerce. Technical development and the subsequent emergence of standards are certainly prerequisites for well-functioning electronic commerce. A second prerequisite, it is suggested (6), should be secure and simple electronic payment systems that function globally.
I come from an institution whose name "Bank for International Settlements" may suggest that the BIS could be involved in or perhaps provide payment systems. However, the BIS, as an international organisation that is active in fostering co-operation among central banks, does not provide such a payment systems.
The BIS is actively involved in seeing to it that matters of common concern to central banks, including payment and settlement systems, are discussed at the BIS. In this connection, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) is the most relevant committee meeting at the BIS. It was established in 1990, and it is one of the permanent G-10 central bank committees reporting to the G-10 Governors.(7)
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BIS and electronic commerce
There is currently no group at the BIS that is concerned with electronic commerce matters in general. Whether commerce is done in traditional ways or entirely via on-line communication channels does not appear to be a prime concern for central banks.
But at given points in time, profits generated in electronic commerce will need to be "materialised"; and this will at some point involve transformation into legal tender or bank money (credit to a bank account).
Common concerns for the safety and integrity of payments and payment and settlement systems exist regardless of the character of any underlying transaction. Therefore, the work done at the BIS in respect to payments and settlements [mainly within the CPSS] is of interest also to those who are involved in electronic commerce.
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BIS and payment systems
Central banks are above all concerned about systemic issues and risks, that is risks inherent in wholesale payment systems that could have an adverse effect on financial stability and the banking system as a whole.
On the other hand, "electronic commerce", at it appears to be developing now, is rather a part of the retail payment and micro payment business. At the BIS, central banks have recently also looked into some aspects of retail payments and the related payment systems.
Of the many publications, the work undertaken in connection with electronic money is probably of particular interest to entities involved in payment systems and...
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