Payment Systems
Negotiable instruments, letters of credit, checks, credit cards, electronic fund transfers, and cash. This course surveys the legal mechanisms by which funds can be transferred, including new mechanisms that have become more important as a result of (a) changes in electronic technology and (b) increased international trade. Designing a system for transferring funds is not easy -- as e-firms like PayPal have discovered -- and the law has had to deal with the difficulties of each new system in turn. The principal focus will be on articles 3, 4, 4A, and 5 of the Uniform Commercial Code, with occasional reference to other statutes and to international conventions and treaties.