The idea here is a forwarder of ordinary e-mail that imposes DSR discipline.
Assume a Internet site P that has light weight financial relations with each of many clients.
The main traffic at the site is authenticated messages to and from clients.
For each client the site keeps:
- A public e-mail address for the client at the site (e.g. norm@Pmail.com),
- A positive account balance,
- A confidential e-mail address or other address for push delivery of messages,
- A secret crypto key shared with the client used at least to authenticate messages.
Transactions between clients and P are:
- Forward mail to another client
- The other client is identified by the other client’s Pmail address.
Message = (Pmail address of target, worth, payload)
Worth is deducted from sender’s account and
Message = (Pmail address of sender, worth − postage, payload)
is sent to target.
- Forward mail to user without account.
- Ordinary e-mail is sent to target including header and the payload.
Message = (e-mail address of target, worth, payload)
The header says in a natural language that a Pmail account has been established and balance created or incremented.
A account secret is included in the e-mail which can be used to gain control of the account and balance.
Nascent accounts are kept for one year.
- Here is money
- Client pays P by some conventional payment scheme.
Client’s account is incremented.
- Client says “pay me” amount.
- If amount is less than client’s balance P pays client, by conventional means.
Client’s balance is decremented.
- Create account
Message = )