About Mondex

• 1993 : Founded by NatWest and Midland Bank

• 1996 : Shares sold to 17 banks in different countries
• 1997 : MasterCard International purchased a controlling
interest

• Mondex’s product
• Money as stand alone information on microchip
• No signature or PIN required
• Operated on 5 different currencies
Mondex in Canada
• 1995 : Arrived in Canada with RBC and CIBC
• Other banks soon followed

• 1998 : First trail -

• Test market : Guelph, Ontario (Population - 109,000)
• $15 credit given for 3 uses
• Merchant terminals at 90% of retain market
• FAILURE!!!!

• 1999 : Second trail –

• Test market : Sherbrooke, Quebec (Population – 142,000)
• Payment options – debit transaction or store value transaction
• Attempt to link to Retailer Loyalty Program

• 2001
• Withdrew service because economy was not favourable.
 Mondex failure reasons
Issues 1998
Secrecy • State-of-the-art hardware and
encryption were not sufficient.
• Detection mechanism was not
strong enough.
Privacy • Privacy advocates did not trust
Mondex.
Utility • Only one payment application
• Already had Visa, Mastercard etc.
• Just used it for 15$ credit
• Complications in usage
1999
• Detection mechanism
improved but it created
privacy issue
• Other issue not resolved
• Privacy concerns became
more prominent
• Two payment options
increased cost for
merchants
• Competitors made life tough
• Complication increased
What should Dexit do?
• Security Issue
• A robust security system

• Privacy issue
• User anonymity
• Clearly address issues, if any
• Cooperating with Privacy Commissioners

• Utility issue
• Distinguish itself from Visa, Masterard and Cash.
• People should know “Why to use it?”