As a means of payment, most electronic money cannot be separated from cash or deposits, but is transmitted and transferred electronically to pay off creditor's rights and debts and realize settlement. Therefore, the function and influence of electronic money at this stage is essentially the relationship between electronic money and cash and deposits.
At present, there are four kinds of popular electronic money in China.
1, stored-value card type electronic money. Generally, it appears in the form of magnetic cards or ic cards, and its issuers are not only commercial banks, but also telecommunications departments (ordinary phone cards and IC phone cards), IC enterprises (network cards), commercial retail enterprises (various consumer cards), government agencies (internal consumer IC cards) and schools (campus IC cards). After the issuing bank receives the customer's funds in advance, it issues the equivalent stored-value card, making the stored-value card a new "deposit account" independent of bank deposits. At the same time, the stored-value card pays the fee by deduction when the customer consumes, which is equivalent to the currency paid by the deposit account. At present, the deposit in the stored-value card has not been included in the reserve of the central bank, so the stored-value card can reduce the demand for cash and current savings.
2. Credit cards use electronic money. Refers to credit cards or quasi-credit cards issued by card issuers such as commercial banks and credit card companies. You can borrow and spend money within the credit limit specified by the issuing bank, and then repay it at the specified time. The widespread use of credit cards can expand consumer credit and affect the money supply.
3. Electronic money based on deposits. There are mainly debit cards and electronic checks. , which is used to withdraw cash, transfer money and transfer funds from bank deposits electronically. The widespread use of this electronic payment method can reduce the cost of consumers going to and from the bank, resulting in a decrease in the balance of cash demand and an increase in the speed of currency circulation.
4. Cash simulates electronic money. There are two main types: one is electronic cash based on Internet network environment, which saves binary data representing currency value in the hard disk of microcomputer terminal; One is the electronic wallet, which saves the monetary value in an ic card and can circulate without a bank payment system. This kind of electronic money has the characteristics of anonymous cash, which can be used for personal payment and can be changed hands many times. It was developed to replace physical cash. The expanded use of electronic money can affect the currency issuance mechanism, reduce the seigniorage income of the central bank, and reduce the scale of assets and liabilities of the central bank.