A simple micro-payment scheme

The micro-payment system is an important technique in electronic commerce. The high-value payment system is not suitable for a micro-payment system because the requirements are different. To meet sufficient security for all participants in electronic commerce, a micro-payment system makes it possible to make small payment through electronic communication networks. In this paper, we propose a simple and secure micro-payment system which can be used for purchasing information goods on the network. The new micro-payment system is developed using a tamper-resistant device (i.e., smart card), an efficient Message Authentication Code (MAC) technique, and the concept of overall network security. In our proposed scheme, we achieve the authentication of the legal users, protection of the integrity of transaction messages, and prevention of duplicate spending. This new micro-payment system is a simple, efficient and economical system. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.