Legal nature of electronic money

Purpose. This article provides an analysis of the category of electronic money as a separate type of property rights of claim. The author presents various points of view that existed before the adoption of the federal law «On the National Payment System» as well as describes the essence of electronic funds in accordance with the provisions of the current legislation. Design. From a legal point of view, electronic money represents the right of a client to an electronic money operator, which carries out the «issuance» of electronic money to individuals and organizations who apply to it. The rapid growth in the popularity of this form of cashless payments is mostly based on its convenience: operational efficiency and a wide range of electronic means of payment, including Internet banking. Electronic money, although viewed by some researchers as «the evolution of non-cash money», is only a payment instrument, which, due to objective trends in the development of economic turnover, may become crucial in the nearest future. Findings. The conclusions made by the author in this article are important in the search for effective models of legal regulation for introducing new types of civil rights objects into property circulation, which can be used, inter alia, as payment instruments. Originality/value. The study may be relevant in the context of the development of legal regulation of the property turnover of virtual currencies in the Russian Federation, since electronic money can be considered as a kind of transition form from traditional non-cash payments to «banking without banks».

non-cash payments, electronic money, national payment system, virtual currencies, cryptocurrency