Polcard launch of e-shopping coupons will make credit cards unnecessary

PolCard, a company that provides authorization and clearing for virtual shopping transactions, has announced it will launch a new e-commerce service at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarters this year. The new service will be similar to the pre-paid system known from mobile telephony, based on the use of cards with a pre-established number of units instead of a monthly bill. In a similar way customers will be able to buy "coupons" or "tickets" for doing on-line shopping, use of which will not require all the procedures involved with issuing credit cards. PolCard does not want to reveal particulars regarding its new product, but nevertheless says that the new service will be a revolution in Polish on-line commerce. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.29), M.T.