Internet access is becoming available in underdeveloped nations around the world. Soon, children in developing nations will receive Internet-ready laptops ([http://laptop.org/ OLPC]). Mobile phone technology is spreading throughout the world, with wireless Internet access soon to follow. Billions of poor people will get online in the next 15 years.
Buying and selling online is a major function of the Internet. Banks and credit card companies cater only to the wealthiest people. How will the billions of new netizens do e-commerce without a credit card or bank account? It is likely that payment services will spring up to serve the local users. But the scope of such services will be limited to geographical areas and national currencies. How much better it would be to provide a payment infrastructure so these local payment services can interact with the rest of the world? These poor people will be major markets.
I propose that the payment system facilitate cross-currency transactions. It should be suitable for credit-less consumers and unstable currencies.