EXHIBIT 5.1

                                     OPINION OF SNELL & WILMER L.L.P.


                                            December 10, 1998



Digital Courier Technologies, Inc.
136 Heber Avenue, Suite 204
Park City, Utah  84060

         Re:      Registration Statement on Form S-3

Ladies and Gentlemen:

         We have  acted as  counsel to Digital  Courier  Technologies,  Inc.,  a
Delaware  corporation  (the  "Company"),  and in such capacity have examined the
Company's  Registration  Statement  on Form S-3 (the  Form  S-3,  including  the
amendments  thereto being referred to collectively  herein as the  "Registration
Statement"),  to be  filed  by the  Company  with the  Securities  and  Exchange
Commission ("Commission") on December 10, 1998 under the Securities Act of 1933,
as  amended  ("Act").  The  Registration   Statement  relates  to  the  proposed
registration for resale by certain selling shareholders ("Selling Shareholders")
of up to an aggregate of 3,412,890 shares of common stock,  $.0001 par value per
share of the Company, 1,775,948 of such shares which were previously acquired by
such Selling Shareholders, and 1,636,942 of such shares which may be acquired by
such Selling Shareholders upon the exercise of outstanding warrants.

         As counsel for the Company and for  purposes of this  opinion,  we have
made those  examinations  and  investigations  of legal and  factual  matters we
deemed advisable and have examined  originals or copies,  certified or otherwise
identified  to our  satisfaction  as true  copies  of the  originals,  of  those
corporate records,  certificates,  documents and other instruments which, in our
judgment,  we  considered  necessary or  appropriate  to enable us to render the
opinion expressed below,  including the Company's  Certificate of Incorporation,
as amended to date, the Company's Bylaws, as amended to date, and the minutes of
meetings of the  Company's  Board of Directors and other  corporate  proceedings
relating to the authorization and issuance of the Selling  Shareholder's shares.
We have assumed the  genuineness  and  authorization  of all  signatures and the
conformity to the originals of all copies  submitted to us or inspected by us as
certified,  conformed or  photostatic  copies.  Also, we have assumed the proper
exercis and payment for the warrants  underlying the shares being  registered in
the  Registration  Statement.  Further,  we have assumed the due  execution  and
delivery of certificates representing the Selling Shareholder's shares.





         Based upon the  foregoing,  and relying solely  thereon,  we are of the
opinion that the Selling Shareholders' shares have been duly authorized and when
issued,   were  or  will  be  legally  and  validly   issued,   fully  paid  and
non-assessable.

         We hereby  consent  to the use of this  opinion  as an  exhibit  to the
Registration Statement and to the reference to our name under the caption "Legal
Matters" in the Prospectus  included in the  Registration  Statement.  In giving
this consent we do not hereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose
consent is required  under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and  regulations of
the Commission thereunder.

                                            Very truly yours,   

                                            SNELL & WILMER L.L.P.