Online Commerce Environment UNIT V Online Commerce Environment

Electronic payments (e-payment) E-payments: payments made electronically rather than by paper (cash, checks, vouchers, etc) Electronic payments methods expedite payments online and reduces processing costs, but must it must be safe and trusted by users. The major methods of e-payments in use includes,

Electronic Payments Methods Electronic payment cards (credit, debit, charge) Virtual credit cards E-wallets (or e-purses) Smart cards Electronic cash (several variations) Wireless payments Stored-valued cards payment Loyalty cards Person-to person payment cards Payments made electronically at kiosk Other methods used mostly for B2B payments Electronic checks Purchasing cards Electronic letters of credit Electronic funds transfer (ETF) Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) Etc The underling similarity is the ability to transfer or make a payment from one person or party to another person or party over a network without face-to-face interaction.

Electronic payments (e-payment) Electronic cards: are plastic cards that contain digitized information, that can be used for payment and for other purposes such as identification and access to secure locations. Payment cards: electronic cards that contains information that can be used for payment purposes. there three types of payment cards Credit cards: providers the holder with a credit to make purchases up to a limit fixed by the issuers. (users normally don’t pay any fee for using it, just a high interest on their unpaid balance) Charge cards: are like monthly loans given to the user, that he/she is required to pay back in full at the end of the month or upon receipt of monthly statement. (usually no interest is paid on such cards, just an annual fee and or severe penalty for failure to pay balance in full) Debit cards: with a card the money for a transact comes directly from the users account

Electronic payments (e-payment) Virtual credit cards: a payment system in which the issuer gives a special transaction number that can be used online in place of a regularly credit card number. E-wallets: is a software component in which a user stores credit card numbers and other information; when shopping online, the user simply clicks the e-wallet to automatically fill in information needed to make a purchase.

Electronic payments (e-payment) Electronic cash: the digital equivalent of paper currency and coins, which enables secure and anonymous purchase of low-priced items. E-cash has various variations; Wireless payments Stored-value cards E-loyalty P2P payment: e-payment schemes that allows the transfer of funds between two individuals Payment made electronically at kiosk; customers acting as cashiers and checking themselves out.

Electronic payments (e-payment) Smart Cards: an electronic card contains an embedded microchip that enables predefined operations or the addition, deletion, or manipulation of information on the card. Some applications of smart cards: Loyalty cards; retailers are using loyalty cards to identify their loyal customers and reward them Financial application; financial institutions, payment associations, credit cards, debit cards, charge card issuers are all using smart cards to extend the traditional card payment services Transportation Identification; smart cards fits perfectly in the identification market

Smart Cards Smart card – plastic card (the size of a credit card) that contains an embedded chip on which digital information can be stored and updated Debit cards are an implementation

Smart Cards Stored-value cards Can hold private user data, such as financial facts Can store about 100 times more information than a magnetic strip plastic card Safer than conventional credit cards

Smart Card Reader Device that plugs into your PC Insert your card and go All account information is stored on card Authorize transactions with only a PIN number No more long Billing and Shipping forms to fill out. Upload options from your card to “smart Space” or download options and applications to the card through Merchants, Visa, or other locations. Readers being built into hardware like keyboards and monitors.

Compaq Smart Card Reader

Ecommerce before Digital Cash Transactions still based on paper money or credit cards Couldn’t order products via the Internet Phone in orders Consumers could only visit the stores Web site, but still had to go to the store to order products.

Minimum Requirements for Digital Cash Atomicity Transactions occur completely or not at all Consistency All parties must agree on critical factors of exchange Isolation Transactions should not overlap Durability If computer crashed money should still be there

Additional Features Secure – unable to alter or reproduce Anonymous – untraceable Portable – physical independence Infinite Duration – until destroyed Two-way – peer to peer transactions are possible Off-line capable – availability Divisible – change can be made Wide acceptability – trust User Friendly – simple Unit-of-value freedom – non-political (never happen)

The Internet International network of networks Universal technology platform: Any computer can communicate with any other computer World Wide Web and Web sites

What You Can Do on the Internet? Communicate and collaborate Access information Participate in discussions Supply information Find entertainment Exchange business transactions

Internet Strategies Promote the brand internationally Strategy Objectives Promote the brand internationally Support global, Field organization building Enable efficient e-commerce

Promote the Brand Internationally About the company – Brand message – Region/country message – Public information About the opportunity – Stories/testimonials – How to get started • About the products – Categories/local specifics – Science – Marketing – How to purchase or promote

Support Field Organization Building Lead generation/conversion • Contact management – Collect, organize and mine information – Leverage web technologies Training and communication – Electronic documentation and presentation

Enable Efficient E-Commerce Cost and operational interaction – Global reach – Self-service – Process integration • Information for business management – Personnel – Product transactions • Marketing – To distributors – To ultimate users

What is e-commerce Software? Front-end For Visitors and Customers Web-based by definition Backend For enterprise business managers Merchandisers, Account Mangers, Customer Support, etc. Middleware To interface with existing systems Customer, Inventory, Credit, Payment and Order Processing systems

e-Commerce Front-end Web Application Server Functionality Personalization and Profiling Complex, Dynamic Content Presentation Process Support Shopping Process Buying Process

e-Commerce Backend Content Management Process Support Merchandizing Catalog management Price and on-line collateral management Process Support Customer Support Anomaly management Payment or Order processing hiccups

e-Commerce Middleware Payment Processing Customer specific credit, purchase orders, etc. Electronic payment including EDI and credit cards Order Processing Interface to proprietary, custom enterprise systems e-enabled systems of large warehouses e-Services that provide Order Distribution Inventory Management Soft and hard reserve functionality Direct access to specific inventory

Web Server Basics Main job of a Web server computer is to respond to requests from Web client computers Three main elements of a Web server Hardware Operating system software Web server software

Web Server Software Most popular Web server programs Apache HTTP Server Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) Sun Java System Web Server (JSWS)

Microsoft Internet Information Server Comes bundled with current versions of Microsoft Windows Server operating systems Used on many corporate intranets Supports the use of ASP ActiveX Data Objects SQL database queries

Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 Allows businesses to sell products or services on the Web using the following tools User profiling and management Transaction processing Product and service management Target audience marketing Provides many predefined reports for analyzing site activities and product sales data

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) “ The electronic interchange of formatted data between computer applications using agreed message standards” Preceded Web-based Electronic Commerce Is appropriate for the exchange of structured business documents orders, invoices, delivery notes Links suppliers, customers and banks 29

EDI Supplier Retailer Retailer’s Bank Supplier’s Bank CRP, Purchase order, purchase order change, Purchase order acknowledgement, invoices Retailer Supplier Retailer’s Bank Supplier’s Bank Payment authorization Electronic Transfer of funds Retailer CRP, Purchase order, purchase order change, Payment authorization Purchase order acknowledgement, invoices Electronic Transfer of funds Retailer’s Bank Supplier’s Bank 30