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The handling of payments over the Internet is a very important function of any E-Commerce site. There are a number of ways to make payments online and these systems are still evolving. |
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Payment card is a general term that businesspeople often use to describe all types of plastic cards that can be used to make a purchase. The main catergories are credit, debit, and charge cards.
The advantages of using a payment card on the Internet are fraud protection, authentication and authorization, and liability. Disadvantages include service fees for both the business and the consumer. There are many different systems available for accepting payment cards and most consumers prefer this approach at the moment. |
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Electronic cash, or e-cash, is the way of the future. E-cash describes any value storage and exchange system created by a private entity that does not use paper documents or coins and can be used as a substitute for physical currency. E-cash can be exchanged for physical cash on demand. There is a need, however, for a common standard among all e-cash issuers.
Advantages of using e-cash include lower fees, and the ability to allow anyone to use it, especially people that do not choose to have, or cannot get a credit card. It also will be handy for those smaller Internet purchases because of the lower transaction fee.
E-cash does have some uniques security problems. The cash needs to be able to be used only once and it needs to be anonymous. Therefore security measures need to be in place to gaurantee the transaction is valid and occuring between two parties. Gaming sites are already using the e-cash system. |
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Consumers are becoming more enthusiastic about online shopping, but get tired of filling out the same forms with their information over and over again. To help with this, consumers can create an electronic wallet, or e-wallet to hold all of that information for them. E-wallets make the shopping experience more effecient and convenient.
There are two forms of e-wallets. A server-side e-wallet contains the user's informationon a server and it can be accessed from any computer. This can be convenient, but it can also pose a security issue. Client-side e-wallets store the information on the client's computer. This is safer, although it limits the consumer from making purchases on any other computer than his own. |
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Stored cards can be smart cards or stored value cards. These basically are like a pre-paid card that doesn't have to contain as much information as a regular payment card. These could be gift cards, pre-paid phone cards, bus cards, etc. |
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Even with modern technology, the main form of payment today is paper checks. These are processed through our nation's banks. These same banks process Internet payments as well using new technologies that are evolving every day. Checks can now even be processed electronically. These banks have to be aware of ohishing attacks, organized crime, and identity theft. Many companies are contracting with outside companies to help combat these attacks. Most industry analyst suggest that phishing attacks, especially, are only going to increase over the next few years, and it is vital to the banks, businesses, and consumers that we are constantly aware of the dangers. |
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