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E-cash minted for NCs

A new entrant in the e-commerce software market releases a "network wallet" payment service for network computers.

A new entrant in the e-commerce software market today released a "network wallet" payment service designed for low-memory network computers and NetPCs.

Called BlueMoney Wallet, the payment service lets shoppers pay for goods without installing software "wallets" on their hard drives. Instead, a customer's payment information is stored on BlueMoney's secure payment server.

The free service requires only a Web browser that supports Secure Sockets Layer security. A buyer can get access to a Web store from any computer by using the BlueMoney Wallet.

The payment service is available only to sites that use its BlueMoney Merchant Server software for creating and running commercial Web sites. The software includes secure credit card features, tools for creating catalogs, an electronic shopping cart, online order management, and free access to the BlueMoney Wallet.

The BlueMoney merchant server can be downloaded at the company's Web site. It costs $1,495, discounted to $1,195 for this month. A one-time $295 fee per bank account is charged to activate direct Internet payment deposits.

The company intends to support the Secure Electronic Transactions protocol for credit card payments over the Internet. President John Sweet said BlueMoney's payment service is designed to be a "proof of concept" for banks that might license the technology and offer their own payment services.