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"I don't really know much about micro-cash... where can I find more info on it?"
Actually - nowhere that I have found. Micro-payment yes, plenty, but no real debate, and nothing much more than schemes and the agreement that it is a good idea.
There have been many micro-payment schemes, all involve some sort of transaction fee (the cheapest I found several years ago was 50cents per transaction). None has taken off, and I think for good reason.
Micro-cash is my own phrase, to differentiate between a transaction based system and an anonymous script exchange, where profits and costs are covered from having all real money in a single account and gaining interest from that, in order to make transactions free.
The only other method is to a have strict percentage of each transaction. I don't know how others feel, I would mind such a tax if at 5% or less, but when it climbs to 10% or more, I just don't like them having their fingers in my pocket.
A few schemes exist, which deal in real money accounts, but make no provision for seriously small amounts, or being able to convert accounts back into real money - the one my kids use is Sony's which works on deposits rather than access to credit cards (I have been burnt by this a few times).
All these seem to be closed systems, Sony accounts to buy Sony gear etc.,.
Micro-cash requires a real account to pay into, and take money from, paying for banking fees only when the user desires to put money in or out into their real world account. Some transaction schemes allowed phone cards to be used for paying in (a good cheap way of putting in small amounts - still costs though).
Linden Dollars in "Second Life" get real close to this, so someone somewhere along the line will eventually get the concept and start making it available more widely - if it is transaction fees it is micro-payment (which nothing seems work), if it fee-less for transactions at least it is micro-cash.
Sorry for the confusion.
Greg Schofield
Perth Australia
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