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TechTrader: Pipex founder gambles with Web currency

Wendy McAuliffe ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 22 Aug 2000 16:36 BST

Oakington, run by Pipex founder Peter Dawes, has designed a system that will allow users to transfer any type of cybercurrency to be stored in a digital purse accessible from your PC.

The technology will be launched within the next two months, and Dawes believes it will set a global standard for Net currency -- loyalty points, share certificates, software licences, tickets or cash.

Dawes is anxious that his product not be tied into any one of the numerous types of Web currency currently on the market. "We're not defining what this currency is, as we want to encourage companies to build their own currencies," says Dawes. The service will initially be sold to smaller companies where there are problems with micro-payments or payments over a distance.

Dawes is confident that his technology could help to limit the amount of fraud on the Net. "Security breaches have arisen from lots of small startup companies saying 'trust me with your money'. We're enabling companies to use our technology to design their own currency for transactions of a relatively low value."

Oakington currently has a demonstration site up and running, but intends to pilot its technology within the next six to ten weeks.

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