Importance

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for authenticating electronic transactions carried out over public networks such as the Internet is disclosed. A transaction record which identifies the electronic transaction to one party, typically a merchant or institution is created. The transaction record is encrypted by a computer controlled by the merchant or institution so as to allow later decryption by the merchant or institution and to prevent alteration by others. A digital receipt is formed by appending the encrypted transaction record to a plaintext message describing the transaction in plaintext. The digital receipt is then communicated to a computer controlled by the customer. The formation of the digital receipt may take place real-time, so that the second party's computer process may remain inactive until the digital receipt is received. The customer may later present the digital receipt to the merchant or institution, who may decrypt the transaction record and compare it to a version previously stored on a database or otherwise authenticate the transaction.

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First Claim