Abstract: The invention provides a system for effecting anonymous purchase of items from an online merchant system. A system according to an embodiment of the invention comprises means coupled to a merchant system for receiving price information from the merchant system about an item selected for purchase by a purchaser. The system further comprises means coupled to a purchaser system for receiving payment of the price from the purchaser. The system further comprises means for providing an anonymous identifier to the purchaser system in response to receiving the payment. The system further comprises means coupled to the merchant site for providing the payment to the merchant site and means coupled to the merchant site for providing the anonymous identifier to the merchant site. The merchant system provides the item to the purchaser in response to the purchaser providing the anonymous identifier to the merchant system. The purchaser thereby remains anonymous to the merchant.