Introduction

The 21st century will not be "cashless", as many now predict. However, it does seem clear that the currency of the 21st century will be "paperless". Paper currency and checks are gradually being supplanted by smartcards, digital cash and instant transfers of funds. The large paper bureaucracy of banks is quickly becoming redundant, burdensome, even antiquated. The evolution in digital money is happening so fast that banks cannot adopt quickly enough and will eventually collapse like top-heavy giants, blown over by the winds of financial change. Maybe, or may not be, but one trend is already clear. The wallet of the future will hold less paper cash, coins and magnetic stripe cards. It will hold instead Money Pad containing digital cash and other financial information, updated perhaps automatically by a PDA with a satellite communication link. As the new technologies develop into new ways of making payment, one concern naturally arises. Will this technology protect each individual's right to privacy while providing the sound money needed for the economic health of communities? The answer is simple it depends on how the new technology is used. There is nothing inherent in the technology that makes it less protective of privacy and individual rights. Advancements like Biometrics Technology has made individual privacy even more secure. As developments in electronic money gather pace, protection of individual rights must be kept in focus. Because the record of most governments so far in these early stages of electronic commerce has been seen by many to be confrontational and not protective of individual rights, it is likely that the preservation of these rights is one reason that private currencies are likely to emerge on the Internet and to eventually play an important role in global commerce. In order to protect the rights and properties of each individual we thought of providing a security system, which every human being can understand and feel free to use. Human beings feel secure when they have their own security arrangements to protect their rights and as well as wealth. Keeping this point of view in mind the Biometrics Technology is use to develop an e-cash handling system, which is similar to well known credit cards and smartcards. The e-cash handling system is a device that facilitates secure currency transactions. We call it as Money Pad which recognises Finger Prints of the user and decides weather the user is a authorised person or not. Every time the user wants to access the Money Pad he has to make an impression of his finger, which will be sensed and matched with the one in the hard disk. If the finger print matches with the users he will be allowed to access and use the Pad other wise the Money Pad is not accessible.

An example of money pad

CHIPS BEING USED:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

1) Field of the Invention: The present invention relates to an electronic wallet management system which controls electronic wallet devices for monetary data transfer, an electronic wallet device itself, an electronic wallet management unit, a terminal station therefor, as well as to a storage medium containing an electronic wallet managing program. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic wallet management system which deals with the loss or failure of electronic wallet devices, as well as to an electronic wallet device, an electronic wallet management unit, and a terminal station designed therefor. The present invention also relates to a storage medium containing an electronic wallet managing program for realizing the system. 2) Description of the Related Art: Electronic wallet devices carry electronic money. People use them to make payment electronically, without using real money. Electronic wallet provides various advantages over cash, one of which is that payment can be made more promptly because there is no need to give or receive the change. People may, however, lose their electronic wallet devices at times. The loss of electronic wallet devices may be handled variously, depending on their device type. For example, in the case of prepaid type devices, which can be used without user authentication, there is no way for the loser to have his/her electronic wallet reissued. This means that the loser would not be able to recover the electronic money at all, unless he/she discovers the very device that is missing. In contrast to this, such electronic wallet devices that require user authentication can be reissued at their respective issuing financial institutions when they are lost. In this case, the monetary data remaining in the lost electronic wallet will eventually be carried over to the reissued device, thus allowing the owner to use it without problems.

Reissuing of such an electronic wallet, however, consumes a long time. Specifically, those that require later settlement, like securities, may take a few months to be reissued. Another such example is banking cards, which manage monetary data not directly, but only through the customers' bank accounts. It takes a couple of weeks for the loser to get such a banking card reissued. What is worse is that the customer cannot spend his/her own money during the time he/she waits for the delivery of a reissued electronic wallet. Those problems in connection with the loss of electronic

wallets are also true in another situation where the customer's electronic wallet device is broken down.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

Taking the above into consideration, an object of the present invention to provide an electronic wallet management system which eliminates the inconvenience that one may encounter when his/her electronic wallet is lost or broken down. To accomplish the above objects, according to the present invention, there is provided an electronic wallet management system which manages an electronic wallet devices holding monetary data. This system comprises the following elements: backup condition testing means for testing predefined backup conditions to determine whether to make a backup, when the electronic wallet device communicates with any other device to transfer monetary data; backup data sending means for sending out a predetermined set of backup data collected from the electronic wallet device, when the backup condition testing means has determined to make a backup; and backup data management means for receiving the backup data from the backup data sending means and saving the received backup data into a backup database. The proposed electronic wallet management system operates as follows. Each time an electronic wallet device is used, the backup condition testing means tests whether any of the predefined backup conditions is met. If any condition is met, the backup data sending means sends a predetermined set of backup data. By the backup data management means, this backup data is saved into a backup database. In this way, the proposed system automatically saves backup information when a relevant backup condition is met, thus making it possible to promptly reissue an alternative electronic wallet device when the customer lost his/her own device.

The present invention also provides an electronic wallet device which transfers monetary data. This electronic wallet device comprises the following elements: backup condition testing means for testing predefined backup conditions to determine whether to make a backup, when the electronic wallet device communicates with any other device to transfer monetary data; and backup data sending means for sending out a predetermined set of backup data collected from the electronic wallet device, when the backup condition testing means has determined to make a backup. Further, the present invention provides an electronic wallet management unit which manages an electronic wallet device, comprising temporary electronic wallet data producing means, responsive to an accident report received from a terminal station,

for calculating elapsed time between the last backup operation for an issued electronic wallet device and the reception of the accident report, compiling temporary electronic wallet data having a limited valid period and a credit limit that is determined according to the elapsed time, and sending the temporary electronic wallet data back to the terminal station. The proposed electronic wallet management unit operates as follows. When an accident report is received from a terminal station, the temporary electronic wallet data producing means outputs temporary electronic wallet data having a limited valid period and a credit limit that is determined according to the elapsed time since the last backup operation. A temporary electronic wallet device containing such temporary electronic wallet data can be issued to the customer for the sake of his/her convenience, with a minimum risk at the issuer side. In addition, the present invention provides a terminal station coupled to an electronic wallet management unit. This terminal station comprises the following elements: medium storage means for storing a plurality of temporary electronic wallet devices in stock for future issuance; receiving means for receiving the accident report concerning an electronic wallet device; transmission means for forwarding the received accident report to the electronic wallet management unit; temporary electronic wallet data writing means for writing the temporary electronic wallet data to a memory of one of the temporary electronic wallet devices stored in the medium storage means, the temporary electronic wallet data being supplied from the electronic wallet management unit in response to the forwarded accident report; and temporary electronic wallet device releasing means for releasing the temporary electronic wallet device containing the temporary electronic wallet data. Moreover, the present invention provides a computer-readable medium storing an electronic wallet management program which manages an electronic wallet device holding monetary data. This program causes a computer to function as: backup condition testing means for testing predefined backup conditions to determine whether to make a backup, when the electronic wallet device communicates with any other device to transfer monetary data; backup data sending means for sending out a predetermined set of backup data collected from the electronic wallet device, when said backup condition testing means has determined to make a backup; and backup data management means for receiving the backup data from said backup data sending means and saving the received backup data into a backup database.

Technical Details Of The Paper

Basic Of The Present System:

Presently due to the usage of computers in almost all the fields the demand for the utilization of Electronic Money have been increased. Payments made today in nearly all of the deposit currencies in the world's banking systems are handled electronically through a series of interbank computer networks. Credit cards and smartcards are widely used to enter into these interbank computer networks in order to perform transactions. These are the popular medium widely existing as a recent medium of currency in the e-cash scenario. The mode of usage and the security provided by these currency mediums are as follows.
Credit

Card:

Credit cards are payment devices that allow the consumer to make purchases within certain guaranteed limits as defined by the issuer of the card. To use a credit card in most cases it is sufficient to present the merchant with the card number and the cardholder's name and expiration date of the card. These data can be conveniently transmitted over the Internet. Furthermore, credit cards process funds by electronic means. The user has to swap the card in the card reader machine then the machine asks for authentication information like secret password etc. Later the user is allowed to perform the transaction. These credit cards have several disadvantages like,

Disadvantages: Instant clearing of funds is not possible. User is always under the pressure of limits on purchase defined by the issuer of the card and also every transaction involves certain charges. Insecure transactions using fixed encryption. The card has to be renewed once it is expired.

Smartcards:
A smartcard resembles a credit card except that it has a microchip embedded within it, which allows the smartcard to store information and sometimes to even perform simple calculations. Common smartcard chips typically holds about 8,000 bytes (characters) of information, which enables the smartcard to perform a variety of functions such as identification, storing bank account information and holding digital cash. Payment information in the form of currency value is stored on this chip and can be retrieved with specially designed card readers. Disadvantages: Insecure transactions using fixed encryption. Risk of data loss due to chip failure.

New Approach:
As this is an era of internet every thing is getting online like shopping, business, banking etc. In the recent trend even money is available online at any time in the form of digi-cash or cybercash etc. These are the recent medium of exchange, which are necessary for the existence of e-banking. As in future the world is going to be paper less cash the existence of e-cash will lead e-banking. In future internet is going to capture the whole world and the private currency will become the media of exchange in e-banks replacing the government currency. Keeping this point of view in mind and to over come the above drawbacks of credit cards and smart cards here we present a medium of exchange to carry digital cash wherever man wants, which we name as Money Pad.

Money Pad:
Money pad is one such medium of exchange, which aims to provide secure means of currency exchange. Its a means that carries digital cash, as paper cash is going to extinct. In order to use this money pad it is necessary to have at least one e-bank in every city. Money pad is a biometric system similar to a credit card or a smart card just like a floppy disk. It consists of a touch sensor and magnetic disk as its peripherals.

Touch sensor is used to record the fingerprint of the user. Magnetic disk, which has the read and write permission is used to hold the authentication details of the user, bank code as well as digi-cash. The bank code and account number of the owner of this money pad is present on the label.

Operation of Money Pad:

New User: When a user wishes to have a Money Pad, he is supposed to visit a near by bankwhich has a e-bank facility. It is necessary for the new user to create a account with someminimum balance. The authentication details along with his finger print is recorded and stored in the data base server. The user is provided with a account number and bank code along with his Money Pad. The Money Pad consists of stored information like account number, bank code (from where he has purchased this money pad) and his fingerprint. Transaction using Money Pad: Whenever a user wants to use the Money Pad he has to place his finger on the touch sensor and then place it in a finger print reader. The reader will ask for bank code so that he can enter into his e-bank, then his account number so that he can enter into his account. After this the reader will access the fingerprint and matches with that present on the Money Pad as well as present in the data base server. If a match occurs the reader knows that he is a authorised user and allows for further transactions. If not then the reader comes to know that the user is unauthorised and a provision can be made so that the digicash present in the Money Pad is e-mailed back to the authorised account holder using the user details present in the Money Pad. As the Money Pad has read and write facility it is used to down load digi-cash, carry on transaction and store the balance.

Why use Money pad?

Instant clearing of funds The instant clearing of funds means the end of 'float', which is the time spent waiting for a fund transfer to clear. Payments can be instantly made as man himself carries digi-cash with him. There is no need for any intermediate party to clear the funds. Avoids the insecure way of carrying money The present trend is full of theft and robbery. Man is in fear while he is carrying a huge amount from place to place. The medium of exchange that is introduced (Money Pad) eliminates this fear since man need not carry any hard cash as it is stored in the form of digital money. In case he loses the Money Pad the provision can be made such that the lost cash can be recurred into his own account by e-mail facility. Provides strong security As we know every body has a different fingerprint it is a rare case to have two persons with same fingerprint. Taking this into consideration Money Pad uses Biometric Technology to provide strong security. Can be meet by a common man Since credit card and smart card require the facility that a minimum deposit should be present which is very high to be meet by a common man. Where as Money Pad doesnt require any minimum high deposit but it requires a small amount which can be meet by a common man. Avoids the nuisance of renewing Money Pad once issued is permanent, as it doesnt require any kind of renovation.

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Technical Implementation
The Money Pad uses the Biometric Technology as the technique with which the security is provided. Biometric Technology are used to accurately identify and verify an individuals identity. This involves identifying his physiological and behavioural characteristics. Biometrics in general refers to the study of biological characteristics. With reference to computer security, it refers to authentication techniques using biological characteristics that are measurable or identifiable and unique to an individual. The accuracy of any biometric system is measured in two ways: False Acceptance Rate Where an impostor is accepted as a match. False Rejection Rate where a legitimate match is denied access. Fingerprint verification is one such biometric system, which authenticates weather the user is a authorised person or not. It involves the user placing his finger over a glass plate, which resides over a high-resolution change coupled cameras. The image captured is compared to that in the systems database and decides the user authentication.

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Fields Of Application

Applicable in e-banks and in any kind of e-transactions

The money pad device is capable of carrying digi-cash and hence it is useful to perform any kind of e-banking or any kind of e-transaction. Can be used to carry out remote transactions

As digi-cash can be carried in Money Pad it is useful to perform remote transaction like e-payments, dig-cash transfer etc. Useful to carry Digital cash

Since in future paper cash is going to extinct, man needs a secure means to carry digicash. As Money Pad provides a secure means to carry digi-cash it will be very needful in future. Utilization of personal data in filling order forms

The personal data stored in the Money Pad can be used to fill order forms thus saving users time. Applicable in m-commerce transactions

Since digi-cash is carried everywhere it is applicable to any kind of mcommerce transactions. Applicable in daily life

As it is useful in shopping, identification, telephone services and licenses it is applicable in daily life also.

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ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES:

Faster and smarter Portability Flexibility(no need to carry separate ATM,Debit,Credit card, pan card or cash etc.) Highly secured(deactivates on illegal use) Reliability (unaffected by electric and magnetic field).
DISADVANTAGES:

Expensive It uses fingerprint detection for security purpose So if a persons finger gets accidentally cut or injured, the detection technique will fail to match the patterns.

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Conclusion
For a digital currency system to attain widespread recognition and use the following three requirements are necessary: 1. Instant clearing of funds 2. Elimination of payment risk 3. Secure transactions using strong encryption Since the Money Pad aims to satisfy the above conditions there is no doubt that in near future it will be widely recommended for use. Once the Money Pad is implemented it has a wide scope. Though at present we may use finger print reader to access the digi-cash in the near future the device can be automated into Mobile phone, Watches, Hand held devises, as well as WAP devices. In future when internet is going to capture the world there is no requirement of any card or pad just a small device which can recognise the finger print can be attached at any place throughout the world. Thus requiring no device to carry money, just a man is required to access digi-cash and proving Man As Money. At last since Thumb Impression is going to provide a strong base for security in the future we can predict that History Repeats.

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