유럽연합과 미국의 전자화폐에 대한 규제 현황을 살펴보고, 규제 차이점 및 차이점 발생 원인을 분석하였다. 이를 위해 먼저 전자화폐의 정의 및 규제 필요성을 설명하고, 유럽연합과 미국 전자화폐에 대한 규제현황과 차이점을 규제의 일치성 및 규제 제정의 적극성, 발행기관 선정, 건전성 규제, 지불준비금 적립의무, 예금보험 가입 의무 측면에서 조사하였다. 한편 규제 차이점 발생 원인을 유럽연합과 미국의 전자화폐 활용도 차이, 지불제도 및 지불관습의 차이, 금융시장에서 은행의 중요성 및 규모 차이, 전자화폐의 발전 종류 차이, 전반적인 전자상거래 활성화 정책 차이, 유럽연함의 통화통합 정책 등을 사용하여 설명하고, 각각의 원인을 분석한 후, 이에 기초하여 국내의 전자금융거래법의 성격을 제시하였다.
In this article, we examine the two important topics in electronic money. First, we explain the reasons why the regulation on the electronic money are necessary. We show the fact that the electronic money is public goods and it may have a big external effect on the national economy. In addition, we explain the consumer protection problem of electronic money and what the government can do to solve it. Second, we survey regulations of most advanced countries and analyze the differences among them. We classify the regulatory system into a European system and American system and we show how they are different and why they are made different. In Europe, on 18 September 2000, two Directives on Electronic money (hereinafter E-money) were adopted. The objectives of the E-money Directives are manifold: to protect the consumer and to ensure bearer confidence, to foster the single market in financial services by providing for a single passport for E-money institutions and for the principle of home country control, and to avoid any distortion of competition for the issuance of electronic money between traditional credit institutions and E-money institutions by subjecting both kinds of institutions to prudential supervision. On the contrary the US government and Federal Reserve Board are not actively trying to making a specific regulation on electronic money. Since they showed their opinions in the seminar in 1996, they did not turn it into as a formal laws. In additions, they have a different opinions how the electronic money should be regulated. For instance, EU allowed non banks to issue electronic money on condition that they should satisfy some conditions of prudential regulations and others. On the contrary, US did not announced any specific conditions. We try to explain their difference by indicating the difference in the development stage and payment system.