A system that permits commercial transactions over a network of computers is described. In one example, the network of computers supports communications between business relation data structures. The business relation data structures reflect credit relationships between two or more businesses. To perform a commercial transaction, a consumer accesses a vendor's Web site. The consumer selects an item to purchase from that Web site. The vendor computer then generates a proposal. The proposal includes an item identifier and a price. That proposal is then propagated to all of the business relation data structures with which the vendor's business relation data structure can communicate. At each one of the recipient business relation data structures, the proposal is modified and forwarded on to other business relation data structures. The modifications are based upon the credit relations between businesses. This modification and forwarding continues until the consumer's computer is reached with a set of proposals. The consumer then accepts a proposal that best suits her needs. This acceptance is then propagated back to the vendor computer. The vendor can then deliver the item to the consumer.

A center site is disposed to intervene in a business transaction achieved through a network. The center site includes an open business information database in which open business information received from member sites connected to the network is accumulated to be opened to the sites and a notarization database to keep therein contents of contracts of transactions between the sites. The center site receives a transaction request from a transaction partner site in accordance with the open business information and notifies the request to an information supply site associated therewith. The center site intervenes in a transaction resultantly accomplished between the information supply site and the transaction partner site and conducts a notarization process for the contents of contract for the transaction to accumulate the contract in a notarization database.

A computer-implemented method of reducing risk in foreign exchange payment-based transactions between financial market participants, wherein the risk filter routine: automatically generates an available balance for the counterparty based upon the at least one user-supplied risk parameter, payments made by the account holder, and payments received by the account holder; automatically accesses the first instruction stored in the payment queue; and automatically determines whether to selectively reject payment authorized by the first instruction based upon the available balance; wherein the risk filter routine automatically rejects payment authorized by the first instruction in the event that the amount of payment authorized by the first instruction exceeds the available balance; and wherein the risk filter routine automatically returns the first instruction to the payment queue for later re-evaluation.

A process for investing in a mutual fund in an overseas portfolio without incurring an initial currency cost. The process is recorded by an exchange of rights to profit or loss of a domestic portfolio of securities with an exchange of rights to profit or loss of a overseas portfolio of securities. Time is a factor in the overseas ownership, and the process requires a fixed period, for example, ten years, for the rights exchange. When the rights exchange is reversed at a preset date in the future, the exchange allows the investor to return to the domestic securities portfolio. The return is done after computing the value of each domestic securities portfolio and the current market rate for currency exchange. The process allows the reversal to be done at the differential. Once the reversal is complete, the mutual fund is managed as a standard domestic mutual fund for the investor by the manager.

A user registration processor unit registers the user registration information to the database, which includes the public key certification acquired from the certification authority that has jurisdiction over each party by the request from the transaction party including seller, buyer, and transportation company. A transfer registration processor unit changes the access right holder and the cargo owner of the shipment information registered to the database at the start of transaction in compliance with the request for request for changing registration of the party with the digital signature and public key certification attached. A verification processor unit achieves the transfer registration with legal binding power by verifying that the digital signature attached to the request for request for changing registration has been prepared by the private key which makes a pair with the public key certificate registered to the database and receiving the approval of the other party.