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             <a href="http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/taler">http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/taler</a>.</p>
         </div>
       </div>
-
+      <div class="col-lg-12">
+        <h2 lang="en" id="overview">Taler system overview</h1>
+        <h2 lang="de">Das Taler-System im &Uuml;berblick</h1>
+        <h2 lang="fr" note="outdated"></h2>
+        <h2 lang="it" note="outdated"></h2>
+        <p lang="en">The Taler system consists of protocols and free software
+          implementations between a number of actors as illustrated in the
+          illustration on the right.  Typical transactions involve the following steps:
+        </p>
+        <p lang="de" note="outdated"></p>
+        <p lang="fr" note="outdated"></p>
+        <p lang="it" note="outdated"></p>
+        <p>
+          <img src="images/system.svg" alt="system overview" style="float: right; margin: 50px 5px 5px 5px;" width="50%">
+          <ol>
+             <li lang="en">A customer instructs his <b>bank</b> to transfer funds
+               from his account to the Taler mint (top left).  In the subject of
+               the transaction, he includes an authentication token from his
+               electronic <b>wallet</b>. In Taler terminology, the customer
+               creates a reserve at the mint.</li>
+             <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="en">Once the mint has received the transfer, it allows the
+               customer's electronic wallet to <b>withdraw</b> electronic coins.
+               The electronic coins are digital representations of the original
+               transfer. It is important to note that the mint does not learn
+               the "serial numbers" of the coins in this process, so it cannot
+               tell later which customer purchased what at which merchant.
+               The use of Taler does not change the currency or the
+               total value of the funds (except for fees which the mint may
+               charge for the service).</li>
+             <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="en">Once the customer has the digital coins in his wallet,
+               the wallet can be used to <b>spend</b> the coins with merchant
+               portals that support the Taler
+               payment system and accept the respective mint as a business
+               partner (bottom arrow). This creates a digital contract signed
+               by the customer's coins and the merchant. Assuming courts accept
+               cryptographic signatures, the customer can later use this digitally
+               signed contract in a court of law to prove the exact terms of
+               the contract and that he paid the respective amount. The customer
+               does not learn the banking details of the merchant, and Taler
+               does not require the merchant to learn the identity of the
+               customer. Naturally, the customer can spend any fraction of his
+               digital coins (the system takes care of customers getting
+               change).</li>
+             <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="en">Merchants receiving digital coins <b>deposits</b>
+               the respective receipts that resulted from the contract signing
+               with the customer at the mint to redeem the coins.
+               The deposit step does not reveal the learn the details of the
+               contract between the customer and the merchant or the identity
+               of the customer to the mint in any way. However, the mint
+               does learn the identity of the merchant via the provided bank
+               routing information.  The merchant can, for example when
+               compelled by the state for taxation, provide information linking
+               the individual deposit to the respective contract signed by the
+               customer. Thus, the mint's database allows the state to enforce
+               that merchants pay applicable taxes (and do not engage in
+               illegal contracts).</li>
+             <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="en">Finally, the mint transfers funds corresponding to
+               the digital coins redeemed by the merchants to the merchant's
+               <b>bank</b> account. The mint may combine multiple small
+               transactions into one larger bank transfer.
+               The merchant can query the mint
+               about the relationship between the bank transfers and the
+               individual claims that were deposited.</li>
+             <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="en">Most importantly, the mint keeps cryptographic
+               proofs that allow it to demonstrate that it is operating
+               correctly to third parties.  The system requires an external
+               <b>auditor</b>, such as a government-appointed financial regulatory
+               body, to frequently verify the mint's databases and check that
+               its bank balance matches the total value of the remaining coins
+               in circulation.</li>
+             <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="en">Without the auditor, the mint operators could
+               steal funds they are holding in reserve. Customers and merchants
+               cannot cheat each other or the mint. If any party's computers
+               are compromised, the financial damage is limited to the
+               respective party and proportional to the funds they
+               have in circulation during the period of the compromise.</li>
+             <li lang="de" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="fr" note="outdated"></li>
+             <li lang="it" note="outdated"></li>
+           </ol>
+         </p>
+       </div>
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