HP Labs Technical Reports

Evaluation of Micropayment Schemes

Chi, Ellis

HPL-97-14

Keyword(s): micropayment; Millicent; MicroMint; Payword; Wenbo Mao's payment scheme; macropayment; anonymity

Abstract: This paper evaluates four micropayment schemes: Millicent, MicroMint, Payword, and Wenbo Mao's simple cash payment technique for the Internet. The paper first describes the differences between macro- and micropayment schemes, the notion of anonymity in electronic commerce, and common features used in payment protocols. It then examines details of the four payment protocols. The paper concludes with a summary of the features of the four payment schemes and compares their computation costs and storage requirements.

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