METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOTE COMMERCE WITH CUSTOMER ANONYMITY

A method and apparatus which enables customers to remotely order goods from a merchant and receive the goods without revealing customer identity or address to the merchant, nor revealing what is bought to the bank or payment agency, and more generally to preserve as much anonymity as required such that no party except the customer has complete information about a transaction. The method uses clearing houses or encryption to break links between customer information and the merchant.