Alice and Bob should be able to issue non-political digital cash denominated in any defined unit which competes with governmental-unit digital cash. Normal cash is issued by the government, but digital cash does not need to be. It could be denominated in market-determined, non-political monetary units.
Such a transition to a privately-operated digital cash system would require a period of brand-name recognition and long-term trust. Opportunities would abound for almost anyone, but in reality the greatest advantage currently goes to the on-line shopping malls and the large merchant sites on the Internet, such as Open Market, Internet Shopping Network, and Net Market. For it is this group that will directly influence the payment channel between consumer and merchant through their extensive contact with both. And, this influence could be used to their advantage to build preference for their ``site'' through money issuance in much the same way that various forms or coupons build customer loyalty and guarantee repeat visits.
Other potential unit providers include Internet service providers, bulletin board system operators, content publishers, card-based payment networks, and well-known manufacturer or service companies. They all share in common the existence of an extensive base of on-line customers. As the new digital cash providers, international brand names, such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and IBM, find themselves in an enviable position to capitalize immediately on their global name recognition.