How did the idea of electronic cash transactions start?
Based on the idea of encryption, decryption, and also code analysis, the idea of creating digital currencies Cryptocurrency was born, which is the digital virtual currency that was encrypted for secure and confidential transactions, as it is created and stored electronically without the presence of a supervisory authority or a central bank controlling it, and it does not have a tangible physical entity like other regular currencies or what is called fiat currency issued by central banks such as the Saudi riyal SAR or the euro EUR or the US dollar USD.
The idea of digital or electronic transactions as an alternative to the usual cash transactions began in the late eighties in the Netherlands in a chain of fuel stations or gas stations on the highway where many thefts occurred. The administration tried to find a solution to this problem, so the administration hired a group of programmers and developers to link money to special cards through which drivers who wish to deal with these stations can obtain fuel from them without the need to deal with paper money at these stations. Thus, there is no money from the stations, or at least it will be greatly reduced, reducing theft cases. After that, the idea of the birth of smart money cards developed, which reflected the idea of money stored electronically encrypted in the card, while there is a device at the gas station to decode that code, which is the point of sale or what is known today as the idea of POS or point-of-sale. This is considered the first image of electronic money that has developed to reach what it has reached now.