The company says its digital currency system, which is the first to span both mobile devices and the PC and can handle micro-payments down to one pence, offers a compelling alternative for retailers looking to cut the costs and risks of accepting credit card payments over the Internet.

Mark Hodkin, international marketing coordinator of netcash, says the service offers "real time funds transfer, no risks of chargebacks from stolen credit cards and processing costs of one per cent".

"What we've done is effectively to create cash 2.0 for the new web 2.0," says Hodkin.

The company says it is specfically targeting the e-bay community as an alternative to PayPal.

The system has already been adopted by companies4u.com, a specialist developer of e-commerce systems for businesses, and there are plans to develop the payment option for plastic electronic newspapers, which are anticipated to hit the market in 2008, says netcash.

During this retailer recruitment campaign netcash is waiving the standard one time sign-up cost of £450 which includes integration of netCash as a payment option on the retailer's Web site.