Product Code Database
Ecash was conceived by David Chaum as an anonymous cryptographic electronic money or electronic cash system in 1982. It was realized through his corporation Digicash and used as micropayment system at one US bank from 1995 to 1998.
In Europe, with fewer credit cards and more cash transactions, micropayment technologies made more sense. In June 1998, ecash became available through Credit Suisse in Switzerland, was available from Deutsche Bank in Germany, Bank Austria, Sweden's Posten AB, and Den norske Bank of Norway, while in Japan Nomura Research Institute marketed eCash to financial institutions.
In Australia, ecash was implemented by St.George Bank and Advance Bank, but transactions were not free to purchasers. In Finland Nordea/EUnet made ecash available.
DigiCash went bankrupt in 1998, despite flourishing electronic commerce, but with credit cards as the "currency of choice".
DigiCash was sold to eCash Technologies, including its eCash patents.
In 2000 eCash Technologies sued eCash.com, alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. eCash.com counterclaimed that eCash Technologies' trademark registration was fraudulently obtained, because it failed to disclose eCash.com's registration of the "ecash.com" domain name to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The court rejected eCash.com's counterclaim saying a trademark applicant must disclose a third party's rights only if they are "clearly established." The court argued because the "mere registration of a domain name does not confer trademark rights, let alone "clearly established" rights, ECash Technologies had no duty to disclose defendant's registration of the “ecash.com” domain name to the PTO, however eCash Technologies subsequently went bankrupt and the domain "Ecash.com" remained in possession of the original owner.
In 2002 eCash Technologies was acquired by InfoSpace, currently known as Blucora. As of 2015, the term eCash is used for the digital cash that can be stored on an electronically sensitive card including online or alternative payment portals and mobile applications.
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