5 years ago: Beenz and Mondex seal smart card deal

Imagine a world without cash. Hard, isn't it?

23.12.99 Web currency company Beenz.com has partnered with Mondex to develop a smart card that will store both electronic cash and beenz.

Both companies view their applications as being complementary. Mondex claims its e-cash is suited to high-volume, low-value transactions while beenz is suited to exploiting loyalty schemes, where users can earn beenz when participating in branded services.

The card is designed to bridge the gap between online and offline retail as it can also be used on the high street.

Mondex is currently used in 75 countries worldwide.

23.12.04 These are two names we haven't heard in a while. While five years ago today the majority of stories seemed to be about the Y2K date change bug, there was still room for other news - and remember this was the height of the dot-com boom.

This publication has talked disparagingly about Beenz in the past. Its bold claims never materialised and maybe it should have seen the value in aiming to be a pure loyalty scheme rather than the rather more grandiose "web's currency" (in their words).

And Mondex, for all the trials in average towns around the world, didn't get anywhere near challenging good old cash. Consumers are increasingly comfortable with smart cards, electronic payments, e-wallets and online transactions but Mondex is hardly a name on people's lips these days.

Go on - Google the name and we guarantee you'll be reading rubbish about 'the mark of the beast' rather anything more recent and useful.

Were these two simply ideas ahead of their time?