Money is the most important economic and social category that has always accompanied the existence of humankind from ancient times to the present day. Human development and money development are directly related processes. Changes in lifestyles affect the types and forms of money, their importance and role in society. 

At the end of the 20th century, society entered a post-industrial stage of development characterized by the leading role of information and knowledge, the shift from the production of goods to the production of services and information, as well as trends towards dematerialization. This transformation has affected almost all objects, and the results of these metamorphoses have penetrated into all public spheres of human life, including monetary relations. Such changes have led to an objective need for the emergence of such an economic phenomenon as electronic money. 

The concept of electronic money in the scientific and practical environment appeared in the late 70s of the 20th century. In this regard, there was an acute need for a definition of this concept, in finding out the properties of electronic money and the features of its functioning, and also faced the task of building a system of state and non-state regulation of relations related to electronic money. 

Electronic money has been functioning for a long time in most countries of the world. According to the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems of the Bank for International Settlements, the number of payment transactions with the use of electronic money in the ten leading foreign countries almost doubled in the period from 2011 to 2018 [1]. In Kazakhstan, the growth rate was more significant and the number of transactions was higher. The number of transactions carried out with the use of electronic money increased from 1,9 million in 2007 to 106.1 million in 2011. Thus, during this period the volume of operations in foreign countries increased more than threefold, while in Kazakhstan – more than a hundredfold: from 0.063 billion U.S. dollars to 6.757 billion U.S. dollars. 

Until recently, there was no systemic legal framework in Kazakhstan in the field of state monetary regulation of the sphere of electronic money functioning. However, such a rapid development of this segment has made electronic money one of the high-tech tools, and has also led to the need to build a payment system that meets the real conditions, which will include the use of electronic money as instruments. In Kazakhstan, the procedure for issuing, using and redemption of electronic money, as well as requirements to electronic money issuers and electronic money systems are established by the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The relations arising from payments and money transfers are regulated by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 237-1 «On payments and money transfers» dated June 29, 1998. In accordance with this law, electronic money is an unconditional and irrevocable monetary obligation of the issuer of electronic money, stored in electronic form and accepted as a means of payment in the system of electronic money by other members of the system. The electronic money system is a set of software and hardware, documentation, and organizational and technical measures ensuring the execution of payments and other operations with electronic money [2]. 

With the adoption of this law, the concept of electronic money was legalized, as well as the procedure for the transfer of electronic money, in which the client provides funds to the operator of electronic money on the basis of the contract concluded with him. However, with the adoption of the law, the process of building an effective system of electronic money functioning was not completed. At the moment, there are still open questions about the economic nature of electronic money, its role in the money turnover, and its impact on the possibility of implementation of monetary policy, as well as their implementation in settlements and payments. Many famous scientists have been studying the processes of electronic money development, such as: F. S. Seydahmetova, F. R. Alibekova, V. F. Nesterenko, M. I. Sukhov, A. G. Aksakov, S. A. Volkov, A. S. Kartuesov, A. V. Onukhov. 

The works of scientists mainly deal with issues related to the concept of «electronic money» and the definition of its advantages and disadvantages. At the same time, issues related to the risks of participants in electronic payment systems, organization of their regulation, as well as the prospects for the development of electronic payments are often beyond the scope of research. In Russian science, the works of such scientists as V. M. Usoskin, O. I. Lavrushin, A. S. Selishchev, A. N. Sharov, L. N. Krasavina and others were devoted to the problems of money theory. Among the foreign scientists we would like to name those whose works are devoted to economic theory and theory of money: K. Marx, K. Menger, F. Hayek, S. Fischer, R. Dornbush, R. Shmalenzie, K. R. McConnell, S.L. Brew, R. Miller, D. Van Huz and others. The works of such foreign authors as O. Issing, B. Cohen, B. Elie, E. Kelly, A. Berensen, T. Tanaka and others were aimed at studying electronic money and its properties. Scientific papers by D. A. Kochergin, B. C. Aksonova, A. V. Shamraev, V. L. Dostov, Sh. P. Egiazaryan, E. V. Goryukov, A. A. Valinurova, S. S. Kvashnin, A. C. Gaiduk, I. S. Sirotin, E. V. Ponomarenko, D. A. Zhdan-Pushkina, etc. made a significant contribution to the development of the national theory and practice of electronic money. 

Research in the field of electronic money has been reflected in reports and official documents of such institutions as the Bank for International Settlements, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of Russia. Assessing the degree of development of the problem of electronic money, it is necessary to note the absence of a comprehensive assessment of the properties of electronic money and in-depth analysis of the impact of electronic money on the money supply. The relevance and degree of maturity of the problem determined the purpose and objectives of the study. The purpose of this monograph is to study the essence, content and mechanism of electronic money functioning in order to identify the main trends in its development and forecast the state of electronic money in the near future. 

Achieving this goal requires the following of the tasks: 

- identify and systematize different approaches to understanding electronic money, determine its most essential properties and attributes, and clarify the concept of electronic money; 

- identify the functions of electronic money, its role in the money turnover and its importance; - analyze foreign experience of using electronic money and payment systems; 

- on the basis of generalization of the world and domestic experience of electronic money regulation to develop recommendations to increase the reliability and efficiency of electronic money systems functioning; 

Theoretical results of this monograph can be used in the construction and development of methodology for regulation and supervision of electronic money systems, as well as used by credit institutions to correct internal risk management systems. 

Separate theoretical provisions developed by the author can be used in the educational process when teaching the courses «Money, credit, banks», «Finance, money circulation and credit», «Organization of monetary regulation», «Banking», «Banking risks» and others courses and special courses in higher economic education institutions.