Abstract: A method and system for effecting a financial transaction over a public network without the submission of sensitive information. The system comprises a common controller in data communication with at least one public network. The common controller includes a processor for generating digital tokens wherein each digital token represents a particular monetary value and contains a particular digital signature and alterable digital token status data indicating ownership of the digital token. The system includes a plurality of user data communication interfaces in data communication with the public network. The processor of the common controller includes data bases for storing user account information such as user identification and PIN, and account values and for authenticating the user identification and PIN to determine whether access to the common controller is permitted.