N-GEN Communications Web-based Seminars ©NGCS

Seminar - An Overview of Communications Technologies

Module 6 - Internet, Intranet, Extranet, e-Commerce and Web Services                                      Slide 38 of 70 _________________                                                                                  __________

                                    Electronic Payment Approaches

                                    Credit Card

                                    e-Cash

                                    Micro-payment System

                                    Mini-payment Systems

_________________                                                                                  __________

On-line payment is the foundation of e-Commerce. Many payment abilities are incorporated into e-Commerce systems. Credit cards are very popular for on-line payment of consumer-retail transactions. Credit cards are an expensive means of payment costing 2 to 5 percent of the transaction value to the merchant. Because of the costs associated with credit card transactions, they are not appropriate for individual small transactions. For example a merchant may end up paying half of a fifty-cent transaction to the bank owning the credit card. Approaches designed to handle small electronic cash, ranging from 1 cent to 10 cents, are known as Micro-payments. Mini-payments, on the other hand, refer to transactions between 25 cents and 10 dollars. Micro-payment systems are more complex than Mini-payment systems. 

Micro-Payment Systems - Millicent from Digital Equipment Corporation, Palo Alto, California, NetBill from Carnegie Mellon University.

Mini-Payment Systems - Cash Card from Visa, Mondex from National Westminster Bank and Midland Bank in Great Britain, Digicash from Mark Twain Bank in St. Louis, U.S.A and CyberCash, Ralston, Virgina.