Instruments - Revision history

FellowTraveler: unlinkable

2013-09-18T23:43:04Z

unlinkable

Cryptoman: Created page with "Open Transactions supports different types of financial instruments... * '''account transfer''' (a signed message, given to the bank, asking to transfer funds to another acco..."

2013-06-11T18:20:17Z

Created page with "Open Transactions supports different types of financial instruments... * '''account transfer''' (a signed message, given to the bank, asking to transfer funds to another acco..."

New page

Open Transactions supports different types of financial instruments...

* '''account transfer''' (a signed message, given to the bank, asking to transfer funds to another account),
* '''[[Sample-Cheque|digital cheque]]''' (a signed message, given to the recipient, authorizing bank to transfer funds when presented),
* '''digital vouchers''' (like a cashier's cheque. Funds are transferred to bank, who then issues a cheque. Bank becomes payer),
* '''[[Sample Cash|digital cash]]''' (Like a real cash withdrawal. Funds are transferred to bank, who then issues untraceable bearer certificates),
* NEW: Now supporting markets (with trades) and payment plans.

Here's a little chart to show some of the differences between these instruments:

{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan=2 | '''CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENT'''
!colspan=4 | '''INSTRUMENT TYPE'''
|-
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''DIGITAL CASH'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''ACCT TRANSFER'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''CHEQUE'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''VOUCHER'''
|-
|Can have a specific recipient:
|NO
|YES
|YES
|YES
|-
|Must have a specific recipient:
|NO
|YES
|NO
|NO
|-
|Can have a blank recipient:
|YES
|NO
|YES
|YES
|-
|Must have a blank recipient:
|YES
|NO
|NO
|NO
|-
|Can be cancelled by sender:
|NO
|YES^
|YES^
|YES^
|-
||||||||||
|-
|Creating instrument removes funds:
|YES
|YES
|NO
|YES
|-
|Payer has "benefit of float":
|NO
|NO
|YES
|NO
|-
||||||||||
|-
|Instrument might bounce:
|NO
|NO
|YES
|NO
|-
|Instrument might be already spent:
|YES
|NO
|YES
|YES
|-
||||||||||
|-
|Guarantee of receipt:
|NO
|YES
|YES
|YES
|-
|Guarantee of funds (when good):
|YES
|YES
|NO
|YES
|-
||||||||||
|-
|Instrument created online:
|YES
|YES
|NO
|YES
|-
|Payment must be online:
|NO
|YES
|NO
|NO
|-
|Instrument verified online:
|YES
|YES
|YES
|YES
|-
||||||||||
|-
|Has an expiration date:
|YES
|NO
|YES
|YES
|-
|Money kept by bank upon expire:
|YES
|NO EXPIRY
|NO
|YES
|-
|Money kept by user upon expire:
|NO
|NO EXPIRY
|YES
|NO
|-
||||||||||
|-
|Record created when instrument is:
|NO
|YES
|NO
|YES
|-
|Sending a payment creates a record:
|NO
|YES
|NO
|NO
|-
|Accepting a payment creates a record:
|YES^^^
|YES
|YES
|YES
|-
||||||||||
|-
|Untraceable to recipient:
|YES
|NO
|NO
|YES^^
|-
|Untraceable to ANYONE:
|YES
|NO
|NO
|NO
|}

^ Assuming it is canceled '''before''' it’s accepted by the recipient. (Once a transfer is accepted, or a cheque is cashed, it cannot be canceled anymore.)

^^ Unlike digital cash, (which is untraceable by anyone), digital vouchers '''are''' traceable by the bank, '''but''' the information is hidden from the recipient, who instead sees the bank as the sender, just like a cashier’s check. (In the case of a voucher, the recipient could serve the bank with a subpoena to find out the sender’s identity. But with cash, he could not—that becomes impossible.)

^ ^ ^ When you receive a digital cash payment, you will most likely want to deposit it immediately, or exchange it for a new token, just to make sure your money is safe. When you do this, the bank doesn't know where the token came from, and it has no way of knowing who you will eventually spend it to. It also has no way of knowing whether you just received this token, or whether you are just exchanging the same one over and over again (or whether you are exchanging a pre-existing token from your wallet that was about to expire.)

'''BUT''' the bank can still make a record that you exchanged a token, which is why I say here that a record could be created with cash, even though I also say that it is untraceable. Remember, the tokens all have the same expiration dates, they all have the same denominations, and the bank cannot see where they came from, and the bank cannot see where they are going, and the bank cannot prove how much of them you actually have.

'''UPDATE''' But!!! the bank can provide a web interface over HTTPS for exchanging tokens, so that even people who are so paranoid they don't even want to even OPEN an account at all can STILL receive tokens, exchange them, and use them for payments. This easily satisfies the "bearer-only" crowd: as long as the https interface is operated by the same entity as the transaction processor, ''you don't have to open an account at all.'' (See main wiki page for a link to a diagram showing this "full-anonymous" mode.)

-----

Here are some nice, graphical diagrams of some of the instruments ([http://www.systemics.com/docs/sox/overview.html these diagrams] are for the ''Ricardo'' transaction server).

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 * '''[[Sample-Cheque|digital cheque]]''' (a signed message, given to the recipient, authorizing bank to transfer funds when presented),
 * '''digital vouchers''' (like a cashier's cheque. Funds are transferred to bank, who then issues a cheque. Bank becomes payer),
-* '''[[Sample Cash|digital cash]]''' (Like a real cash withdrawal. Funds are transferred to bank, who then issues untraceable bearer certificates),
+* '''[[Sample Cash|digital cash]]''' (Like a real cash withdrawal. Funds are transferred to bank, who then issues chaumian bearer certificates),
 * NEW: Now supporting markets (with trades) and payment plans.
@@ Line 152: / Line 152: @@
 ||||||||||
 |-
-|Untraceable to recipient:
+|Unlinkable to recipient:
 |YES
 |NO
@@ Line 158: / Line 158: @@
 |YES^^
 |-
-|Untraceable to ANYONE:
+|Unlinkable to ANYONE:
 |YES
 |NO
@@ Line 167: / Line 167: @@
 ^ Assuming it is canceled '''before''' it’s accepted by the recipient. (Once a transfer is accepted, or a cheque is cashed, it cannot be canceled anymore.)
-^^ Unlike digital cash, (which is untraceable by anyone), digital vouchers '''are''' traceable by the bank, '''but''' the information is hidden from the recipient, who instead sees the bank as the sender, just like a cashier’s check. (In the case of a voucher, the recipient could serve the bank with a subpoena to find out the sender’s identity. But with cash, he could not—that becomes impossible.)
+^^ Unlike digital cash, (which is unlinkable by anyone), digital vouchers '''are''' traceable by the bank, '''but''' the information is hidden from the recipient, who instead sees the bank as the sender, just like a cashier’s check. (In the case of a voucher, the recipient could serve the bank with a subpoena to find out the sender’s identity. But with cash, he could not—that becomes impossible.)
 ^ ^ ^ When you receive a digital cash payment, you will most likely want to deposit it immediately, or exchange it for a new token, just to make sure your money is safe. When you do this, the bank doesn't know where the token came from, and it has no way of knowing who you will eventually spend it to. It also has no way of knowing whether you just received this token, or whether you are just exchanging the same one over and over again (or whether you are exchanging a pre-existing token from your wallet that was about to expire.)
-'''BUT''' the bank can still make a record that you exchanged a token, which is why I say here that a record could be created with cash, even though I also say that it is untraceable. Remember, the tokens all have the same expiration dates, they all have the same denominations, and the bank cannot see where they came from, and the bank cannot see where they are going, and the bank cannot prove how much of them you actually have.
+'''BUT''' the bank can still make a record that you exchanged a token, which is why I say here that a record could be created with cash, even though I also say that it is unlinkable. Remember, the tokens all have the same expiration dates, they all have the same denominations, and the bank cannot see where they came from, and the bank cannot see where they are going, and the bank cannot prove how much of them you actually have.
 '''UPDATE''' But!!! the bank can provide a web interface over HTTPS for exchanging tokens, so that even people who are so paranoid they don't even want to even OPEN an account at all can STILL receive tokens, exchange them, and use them for payments. This easily satisfies the &quot;bearer-only&quot; crowd: as long as the https interface is operated by the same entity as the transaction processor, ''you don't have to open an account at all.'' (See main wiki page for a link to a diagram showing this &quot;full-anonymous&quot; mode.)