It is not everyday that the United Kingdom is seen to be leading the European Union (EU), never mind the rest of the world, but on Saturday April 27 2002-E Day--Britain became the first member state to implement the EU directive covering the issuing of electronic money. The British, of course, responded to this momentous event with traditional disinterest.
E-Money is one of those areas of business whose public profile waxes and wanes with little rhyme or reason. However, it is clear that there is a real need for safe and secure methods of handling money in an electronic format to be both devised and, more importantly still, widely deployed at both national and international levels. Thus one would think that E Day would be greeted with at least a modicum of fanfare, but the reality was somewhat different. Indeed, a quick poll indicated that there was a near uniform ignorance of the event.