The latest innovations in exchange appear to be our shift from the green stuff we carry in our pockets and the paper checks we write to more intangible digital symbols that travel better by wire than by wallet
In 1993, Americans carried 331 million credit cards - 1.3 cards for every man, woman and child in the country - and ran up $474.3 billion in transactions, according to the U.S. Statistical Abstract. The networks to support such wide-ranging commerce are huge. In addition, most Americans use ATM cards, personal identification numbers, and vendor point-of-sale machines. Many banks allow customers to use their Touch-Tone keypads to obtain bank balances and even the status of individual checks, all by computer and digitized voice
While electronic transactions have become commonplace in the private sector, government is also gearing up for electronic commerce. And while the broad spectrum of electronic commerce covers a multitude of systems and methods, government electronic commerce applications deal mostly with Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
EBT Soon, paper food stamps may be replaced by EBT. Recipients would use a debit card, similar to a standard ATM card, to buy groceries at participating markets. The system will only accept purchases for which food stamps are intended, and the black market exchange of paper food stamps for cash should be curtailed. In addition, the printing, warehousing, security, transporting and disposing of food stamps will be eliminated, cutting costs significantly. An additional benefit is that food stamp debit cards will work just like ATM cards at grocery stores, which should reduce the embarrassment recipients may feel when peeling off paper food stamps as other shoppers watch
----------Sidebar---------- Social Services EBT The primary driver for EBT projects has been the Department of Agriculture's Food and Consumer Service (FCS), and there are EBT programs operating in at least 10 states
The first EBT system was a small pilot, implemented in 1984, in Reading, Pa. Since that time, FCS has begun implementation projects to integrate EBT with other assistance programs, such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
Other projects include Albuquerque, N.M., a program which is going statewide soon; Ramsey County, Minn.; Texas, with a statewide rollout expected in November; Maryland, the first state to have a program operational statewide; three counties in New Jersey; and Dayton, Ohio
Wyoming has implemented an offline smart card operation for the Women's Infants and Children (WIC) program
EBT got a real boost in Vice President Gore's National Performance Review (NPR). One of the recommendations of the NPR was the establishment of a nationwide EBT system. This project has taken shape in the form of the Southeast Alliance of States, where nine states are working together to get a regional EBT system. The U.S. Department of the Treasury is serving as the contracting agency and will acquire services that can be provided to all states in the alliance
The Southeast Alliance has spawned projects in other groups of states. A similar procurement, called the North East Coalition, is taking place in Northeastern states and New England. The coalition, which consists of New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have a solicitation out for bid to provide EBT services in their region. North Dakota and South Dakota have also issued a joint solicitation for EBT
Other states with EBT projects close to starting are Utah, Ohio and Illinois. In the west, Oregon and California are expected to go out for bid for their systems within the next few months. The state of Delaware is working on a feasibility study using a different technology - an optical card
Milford Sprecher, Federal Sources Inc ----------End of Sidebar---------- EDI Blake Harris, in a story in the June 1995 issue of Government Technology, defined EDI as "consisting of a collection of standard message formats that can be sent by an electronic messaging service - essentially e-mail messages that follow a preset format so the information can be automatically processed by the software receiving it." Perhaps the best demonstration of how EDI could aid government agencies is with formatted online catalog ordering. The purchaser pulls up an approved catalog, selects an item to purchase, clicks on the picture of the item, drags it onto an order form, and releases the mouse button. All the pertinent information - type, cost, order number, vendor address - automatically appears on the order form. The purchaser indicates who the order is for and presses "send." According to the GartnerGroup, "the trend will be increasingly toward paperless procurement." SERVICE WITH A CARD Today, some state and local government agencies transact business via kiosks and credit or debit cards. Citizens can order a birth certificate and pay by credit card, pay a traffic fine, renew a vehicle registration, schedule and put a deposit on a golf tee time, or check on the status of a building permit. The lure is simple: less public-counter traffic, better access for the public and much less redundant data entry and paper shuffling
----------Sidebar---------- Feds Release Electronic Commerce Report WASHINGTON, D.C. (NB) - The General Services Administration and the Defense Department have released a report detailing how to streamline the cumbersome, paper-strangled federal procurement process and turn it into an easy, electronic process
The report describes the new system called for in the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994, which President Clinton signed into law last October
The report proposes a form of electronic commerce through agency gateways to designated network entry points. Incoming electronic traffic would then be transferred to what GSA calls "value-added networks," or VANs
The report is available in the Internet via FTP to ds.internic.net; username: anonymous; password: guest. The report is under director/pub/ecat.library/march.architecture/final
For more information, contact the Federal Electronic Commerce Acquisition Program Management Office at 703/681-0369
----------End of Sidebar---------- While electronic commerce offers much to governments and the public they serve, most ATM machines, credit card point-of-sale networks and bank information services run on closed networks with tight security. Running such transactions on the Internet exposes valuable transactions to theft, fraud or mischief. Nevertheless, banks are pressing forward and stepping out onto the Internet. Various encryption and even anonymous electronic money schemes are in the works
COMMERCE ON THE INTERNET? The Internet is growing rapidly and is relatively inexpensive to use. A computer, modem and a $10-per-month account with one of the commercial online providers will allow basic Internet exploration. Becoming an Internet provider is more complicated, but according to the GartnerGroup, a "robust presence" on the Internet can be accomplished for about $100,000
Bandwidth is relatively inexpensive, and graphical browsersoftware is free. Consequently, growth has been phenomenal
Gartner estimates that 90 percent of the thousands of World Wide Web sites available in June 1995 were implemented in the previous six months. By the end of 1995, says Gartner, 90 percent of major corporations will implement Internet links
The Internet offers government some very important advantages, including the ability to connect with other government agencies, to do research, and to allow public access to government information with far fewer staff than would be required under traditional "public counter" operations. Perhaps the most useful application is e-mail, which, over the Internet, is global and virtually free of cost
For government agencies seeking suppliers and responses to RFPs, the Internet offers some attractive features, not the least of which is connectivity to the private sector
BUT? The Internet has some definite drawbacks. Chief among those are that it has been likened to an electronic anarchy or the Old West. While the bulk of Internet communication is civil and lawful, the exceptions make it hazardous to transmit credit card numbers, bank account information, telephone billing numbers or even Social Security numbers
Of those corporations on the Internet by the end of 1995, 90 percent will experience at least one significant security breach by mid-1996. The GartnerGroup even cautions against putting too much trust in one's Internet e-mail security, since hackers sometimes bypass application security via networking layers
Nevertheless, a number of corporations are conducting electronic commerce pilots. Wells Fargo Bank offers its customers Internet access to account information, and Cisco Systems is transacting EDI with 30 trading partners using a product from Premenos that encrypts EDI-formatted messages
----------Sidebar---------- Finance on the Web CYBERSPACE - Today, a number of banks and other finance and electronic commerce organizations operate on the World Wide Web (WWW). Here are a few sample addresses for such sites: * http://banking.wellsfargo.com/more_on.html * http://www.tig.com/IBC/ * http://nii-server.isi.edu/info/NetCheque/ * http://www.digicash.com/home.html * http://www.spiderweb.com/sw/bank.htm * http://www.cnbe.com/ ----------End of Sidebar---------- That does not mean Internet EDI is coming to government business partners soon
"We remain unconvinced," says Gartner, "of compelling reasons for enterprises to use the Internet for EDI - or other forms of official correspondence - at this time." Strong encryption - necessary to protect Internet transactions - is opposed by the Clinton administration, on the grounds that it would enable criminals to avoid court-ordered wiretaps. Corporations are jumpy about the issue as well, since employees could transmit encrypted trade secrets to competitors undetected
Recently, while the CIA was decrying the ease with which terrorists could hack into the nation's computer networks, the FBI was lobbying to stop powerful encryption because "terrorists could communicate in privacy." The issue of privacy versus regulation will be fought out in legislatures and the courts through 1997, according to Gartner
GETTING ON THE NET Although few companies - let alone government agencies - are expected to transact electronic commerce over the Internet any time soon, Internet connectivity for research, e-mail and other purposes is booming. Internet "test drives" have been extremely popular at two recent Government Technology conferences, and a Government Technology survey of state CIOs placed the Internet at the top of their technology priorities. Given an awareness of its drawbacks, it can be a very useful tool
Agencies considering an Internet connection, however, might consider some common-sense policy recommendations. The Computer Emergency Response Team at Carnegie Mellon University estimates that 90 percent of systems are vulnerable to hackers because there are no passwords, or the passwords are too easy to guess
But there are more issues to Internet connectivity than external hackers
While "surfing the net" can be enjoyable and educational recreation, surfing by definition is aimless and can soak up hours of otherwise productive time on the job
And there are other concerns. A GartnerGroup publication said that on the Internet "Anything goes - anyone can publish anything, circulate obscene pictures, host online dating services, maintain pornographic bulletin boards, distribute racial and ethnic jokes, and more that may offend fellow travelers on the Internet." So in addition to productivity concerns, there are liability issues to consider when developing policies for work-related Internet use. Technology may provide part of the solution - such as software that provides an "audit trail" of what the employee views
ferent technology - an optical card
Milford Sprecher, Federal Sources Inc ----------End of Sidebar---------- EDI Blake Harris, in a story in the June 1995 issue of Government Technology, defined EDI as "consisting of a collection of standard message formats that can be sent by an electronic messaging service - essentially e-mail messages that follow a preset format so the information can be automatically processed by the software receiving it." Perhaps the best demonstration of how EDI could aid government agencies is with formatted online catalog ordering. The purchaser pulls up an approved catalog, selects an item to purchase, clicks on the picture of the item, drags it onto an order form, and releases the mouse button. All the pertinent information - type, cost, order number, vendor address - automatically appears on the order form. The purchaser indicates who the order is for and presses "send." According to the GartnerGroup, "the trend will be increasingly toward paperless procurement." SERVICE WITH A CARD Today, some state and local government agencies transact business via kiosks and credit or debit cards. Citizens can order a birth certificate and pay by credit card, pay a traffic fine, renew a vehicle registration, schedule and put a deposit on a golf tee time, or check on the status of a building permit. The lure is simple: less public-counter traffic, better access for the public and much less redundant data entry and paper shuffling
----------Sidebar---------- Feds Release Electronic Commerce Report WASHINGTON, D.C. (NB) - The General Services Administration and the Defense Department have released a report detailing how to streamline the cumbersome, paper-strangled federal procurement process and turn it into an easy, electronic process
The report describes the new system called for in the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994, which President Clinton signed into law last October
The report proposes a form of electronic commerce through agency gateways to designated network entry points. Incoming electronic traffic would then be transferred to what GSA calls "value-added networks," or VANs
The report is available in the Internet via FTP to ds.internic.net; username: anonymous; password: guest. The report is under director/pub/ecat.library/march.architecture/final
For more information, contact the Federal Electronic Commerce Acquisition Program Management Office at 703/681-0369
----------End of Sidebar---------- While electronic commerce offers much to governments and the public they serve, most ATM machines, credit card point-of-sale networks and bank information services run on closed networks with tight security. Running such transactions on the Internet exposes valuable transactions to theft, fraud or mischief. Nevertheless, banks are pressing forward and stepping out onto the Internet. Various encryption and even anonymous electronic money schemes are in the works
COMMERCE ON THE INTERNET? The Internet is growing rapidly and is relatively inexpensive to use. A computer, modem and a $10-per-month account with one of the commercial online providers will allow basic Internet exploration. Becoming an Internet provider is more complicated, but according to the GartnerGroup, a "robust presence" on the Internet can be accomplished for about $100,000
Bandwidth is relatively inexpensive, and graphical browsersoftware is free. Consequently, growth has been phenomenal
Gartner estimates that 90 percent of the thousands of World Wide Web sites available in June 1995 were implemented in the previous six months. By the end of 1995, says Gartner, 90 percent of major corporations will implement Internet links
The Internet offers government some very important advantages, including the ability to connect with other government agencies, to do research, and to allow public access to government information with far fewer staff than would be required under traditional "public counter" operations. Perhaps the most useful application is e-mail, which, over the Internet, is global and virtually free of cost
For government agencies seeking suppliers and responses to RFPs, the Internet offers some attractive features, not the least of which is connectivity to the private sector
BUT? The Internet has some definite drawbacks. Chief among those are that it has been likened to an electronic anarchy or the Old West. While the bulk of Internet communication is civil and lawful, the exceptions make it hazardous to transmit credit card numbers, bank account information, telephone billing numbers or even Social Security numbers
Of those corporations on the Internet by the end of 1995, 90 percent will experience at least one significant security breach by mid-1996. The GartnerGroup even cautions against putting too much trust in one's Internet e-mail security, since hackers sometimes bypass application security via networking layers
Nevertheless, a number of corporations are conducting electronic commerce pilots. Wells Fargo Bank offers its customers Internet access to account information, and Cisco Systems is transacting EDI with 30 trading partners using a product from Premenos that encrypts EDI-formatted messages
----------Sidebar---------- Finance on the Web CYBERSPACE - Today, a number of banks and other finance and electronic commerce organizations operate on the World Wide Web (WWW). Here are a few sample addresses for such sites: * http://banking.wellsfargo.com/more_on.html * http://www.tig.com/IBC/ * http://nii-server.isi.edu/info/NetCheque/ * http://www.digicash.com/home.html * http://www.spiderweb.com/sw/bank.htm * http://www.cnbe.com/ ----------End of Sidebar---------- That does not mean Internet EDI is coming to government business partners soon
"We remain unconvinced," says Gartner, "of compelling reasons for enterprises to use the Internet for EDI - or other forms of official correspondence - at this time." Strong encryption - necessary to protect Internet transactions - is opposed by the Clinton administration, on the grounds that it would enable criminals to avoid court-ordered wiretaps. Corporations are jumpy about the issue as well, since employees could transmit encrypted trade secrets to competitors undetected
Recently, while the CIA was decrying the ease with which terrorists could hack into the nation's computer networks, the FBI was lobbying to stop powerful encryption because "terrorists could communicate in privacy." The issue of privacy versus regulation will be fought out in legislatures and the courts through 1997, according to Gartner
GETTING ON THE NET Although few companies - let alone government agencies - are expected to transact electronic commerce over the Internet any time soon, Internet connectivity for research, e-mail and other purposes is booming. Internet "test drives" have been extremely popular at two recent Government Technology conferences, and a Government Technology survey of state CIOs placed the Internet at the top of their technology priorities. Given an awareness of its drawbacks, it can be a very useful tool
Agencies considering an Internet connection, however, might consider some common-sense policy recommendations. The Computer Emergency Response Team at Carnegie Mellon University estimates that 90 percent of systems are vulnerable to hackers because there are no passwords, or the passwords are too easy to guess
But there are more issues to Internet connectivity than external hackers
While "surfing the net" can be enjoyable and educational recreation, surfing by definition is aimless and can soak up hours of otherwise productive time on the job
And there are other concerns. A GartnerGroup publication said that on the Internet "Anything goes - anyone can publish anything, circulate obscene pictures, host online dating services, maintain pornographic bulletin boards, distribute racial and ethnic jokes, and more that may offend fellow travelers on the Internet." So in addition to productivity concerns, there are liability issues to consider when developing policies for work-related Internet use. Technology may provide part of the solution - such as software that provides an "audit trail" of what the employee views
Any tool can be abused - even a socket wrench can raise a nasty welt when applied to someone's head. The Internet is a centerpiece of the Information Age, its value is incalculable. The key will be to use it well
----------Sidebar---------- Sample State and Local Internet Sites CYBERSPACE - Many state and local government agencies, organizations and associations - from legislatures to towns and cities - have a presence on the Internet. Here are Internet addresses for a few of them. Many have links to further sites: * Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts: http://www.cerf.net:80/penna-courts/ * Chicago Police Department: http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Chicago/html/caps/caps-home.html * Citylink (A listing of U.S. cities and states): http://www.neosoft.com/citylink/default.html * Council of State Governments: http://www.csg.org/ * International City/County Management Association: http://pti.nw.dc.us/icma.htm * National Association of Counties: http://pti.nw.dc.us/naco.htm * National Association of State Information Resource Executives: http://www.state.ky.us/nasire/NASIREmain.html * National Association of State Telecommunications Directors: http://www.csg.org/nastd.html * National League of Cities: http://pti.nw.dc.us/nlc.htm * Public Technology Inc.: http://pti.nw.dc.us/ * State Government on the Net: http://www.webcom.com/~piper/state/states.html * State Search: http://www.state.ky.us/nasire/NASIREhome.html * U.S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/ * Yahoo Government Index: http://www.yahoo.com/Government/
