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The amount of virtual money that circles the globe every day is truly staggering. The Federal Reserve's Fedwire and the New York-based CHIPS alone send out well over $2 trillion daily. Retail systems such as credit and debit cards deliver several hundred billion more. In fact, the combined dollar flow in one day equals over one-third of our gross domestic product for the entire year. Trillions of dollars of ethereal money soar around the globe, perched atop a very narrow "real" money base, and with the recent dramatic growth of the Internet, these vast numbers can only grow. In Virtual Money, the first book-length account of the electronic money phenomenon, economist Elinor Harris Solomon takes us on a fascinating tour of money's brave new world, offering an informative look at the pluses and minuses of virtual money in its myriad forms. Solomon provides a wide ranging introduction to electronic monies, describing in down-to-earth terms how each system works. Starting on familiar ground, with gold and paper money, she examines the growth of the credit card from the mid-sixties, when it was a status symbol for the wealthy, to its present nearly universal use throughout America, and she offers an engaging discussion of exotic new e-monies, such as "Smart Cards," e-cash, electronic wallets, and cybermoney, as well as upcoming innovations such as electronic benefits transfers (EBT), which may replace food stamps by 1999. Equally important, the book offers a clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of electronic money. Clearly there are great benefits to consumers, investors, and corporations, as goods and services competing in world markets can be purchased instantly from anywhere across the globe. Yet there are hazards as well. For instance, the very size of virtual money movements creates an enormous float that exceeds the amount of monetary reserves to back it up at any given moment. Digital glitches can mean chaos, as in 1995 when a snafu that delayed the opening of Wall Street's Big Board by just 60 minutes caused the Nasdaq Composite to fall 27 points. Moreover, we face increased risks of fraud, piracy, and invasion of privacy, as well as threats to national security. Solomon takes us inside the world of international money laundering--a three-hundred-billion-dollar-a-year business--to show how today's vast electronic wire transfers help conceal illegal activities. For example, in 1994, two agents for American Express Bank International were convicted on eleven counts of money laundering and four counts of deceiving the Federal Reserve. Their countless wire transfers of seven figures had proved far simpler than smuggling duffel bags of cash across the border. Whether describing sophisticated encryption methods, or the Russian computer hacker who managed to steal $400,000 from Citicorp, or the behind-the-scenes transactions of a simple credit card charge, Virtual Money is an illuminating look at a very recent phenomenon, one that can only grow in importance.

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Library Journal Review

With a background that includes service as a financial economist with the Federal Reserve Board and senior economist at the Department of Justice, Solomon has the credentials to provide an informed look at the pitfalls associated with virtual money. She uses this term to include technological innovations such as smart cards, electronic benefits transfers, E-cash, and other alternatives to cash made possible by electronic money transfers. After noting the ubiquitous presence of credit and debit cards, she describes more exotic forms of cybermoney and details the potential abuse that is introduced as electronic commerce embraces these forms of money transfer. Even though Solomon does a fine job of explaining an abstract concept not well covered in the journal literature, this is not for the casual reader.‘Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

The advent of instantaneous worldwide communication has greatly facilitated the transfer of wealth between individuals no matter where they live. The daily flows within the US are in excess of $2 trillion per day! Solomon, an acknowledged expert in electronic funds transfer, has written a complete and useful description of the various forms of these new "virtual" monies and how they work. Undoubtedly the advent of electronic funds transfer has speeded up the workings of the monetary system. This has been of benefit to world trade, at the cost of some possible increased risk to the funds transfer system. It has also brought about the partial loss of financial independence on the part of governments. This volume is rather light, if not theoretically flawed, in terms of what does and does not constitute money. The existence of unused facilities on personal credit cards does not constitute money any more than do lines of credit that are unused, yet somehow this is all considered to be part of "virtual" money. Adequate index and careful notes. A useful but not essential addition for undergraduate collections. D. E. Bond University of British Columbia

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

About the Author: Elinor Harris Solomon is Adjunct Professor of Economics at George Washington University. She was a Financial Economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Senior Economist with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.