Technology has inarguably made our lives easier. It has cut across distance, space and even time. One of the technological innovations in banking, finance and commerce is the Electronic Payments. Electronic Payments (e-payments) refers to the technological breakthrough that enables us to perform financial transactions electronically, thus avoiding long lines and other hassles. Electronic Payments provides greater freedom to individuals in paying their taxes, licenses, fees, fines and purchases at unconventional locations and at whichever time of the day, 365 days of the year.
Nevertheless, there have been doubts regarding the safety and authenticity of electronic payments. In newspapers, we regularly read reports on e-payments fraud, security threats and electronic thefts.
Electronic payments can either be card-based which include credit cards, debit cards and stored value cards. Other e-payments include the use of digital cash and e-wallets. The current array of e-payments channels are point-of-sale, telephone, pay by internet, pay by kiosks, mobile devices like cell phones, wireless, Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) and Near Field Communication (NFC).
Majority of online shoppers use credit cards to pay for their online purchases. Nevertheless, debit cards are now increasingly being used. In debit cards the funds are withdrawn directly from the purchaser’s checking or savings account at a bank. In simpler terms, while a credit card is a way to “pay later,” a debit card is a way to “pay now”. Debit card is an alternative to carrying a checkbook or cash.
The stored value cards are used as disbursement method. Stored value cards let you transfer cash value to a card. This is commonly used in public transportation, colleges and universities, and prepaid telephone use.
Digital cash is also being used in e-payments. Digital cash is a way wherein persons are able to purchase goods or services by transmitting a number (value) from one computer to another. The person first sets up a digital account with a particular bank or provider. After which, a specific sum is transferred from an existing bank account or credit card into the digital account. Thus when a person makes a purchase, the amount is transferred from his digital account to the account of the vendor.
Electronic-wallets (e-wallets) are also used in e-payments. E-wallets allow consumer to register and enter personal and financial information once into a form and have the e-wallet auto-populate forms on a recurring basis. E-wallets are virtual containers that posses the consumer’s personal data and presents that data to a merchant at the time of a purchase.
However you do your e-payments, you should take steps in making sure that it is secure and that your personal information is protected. Deception and internet fraud may be beyond our control, but individuals can take action to recognize, avoid and report such cases.
Written by admin on December 7th, 2007 with no comments.
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ON THE eve of another expected hike in interest rates today, financial heavyweights yesterday urged the Reserve Bank to make monetary policy less reactive, saying rising credit costs have spurred the pace of company failures and may lead to job cuts. At
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Monroe Bancorp (Nasdaq:MROE) announced that its Board of Directors recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share on the Company’s Common Stock. The dividend is payable on Monday, December 31, 2007 to shareholders of record on Monday, December
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Royal Bank of Scotland defied the doomsayers yesterday as it unveiled a 1.25bn writedown on sub-prime mortgage assets but was still able to promise investors 2007 profits of more than 10bn. The company said in a trading update it has written down
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The Bank of England yesterday bowed to the overwhelming pressure of gloomy economic data and hacked a quarter of a percentage point off base rates, bringing themdown to 5.5% - the first cut since August 2005. After a week of feverish speculation, a
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Dec. 6, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — Monroe Bancorp (Nasdaq:MROE) announced that its Board of Directors recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share on the Company’s Common Stock. The dividend is payable on Monday, December
Written by on December 7th, 2007 with no comments.
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Dec. 6, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — Monroe Bancorp (Nasdaq: MROE) announced that its Board of Directors recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share on the Company’s Common Stock. The dividend is payable on Monday, December
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WESTPAC has raised $247 million from institutions from an initial public offer of shares in funds manager BT Investment Management. The institutional book build closed last night, with the shares issued at $4.80 per share. The price came in at the bottom
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Barclays Bank of Kenya is the overall winner of this year’s Renaissance Capital Kenya Banking Awards. It was followed by Equity Bank and Standard Chartered in second and third places respectively. And with up to 16 main categories at stake, virtually
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LONDON (ShareCast) - Royal expects the credit market deterioration in the second half to lead to write-downs of 950m, although operating profit and earnings per share are seen “well ahead” of forecasts. It said the the write-downs include 950m on its
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