E-commerce

Introduction

E-Commerce, which is short for electronic commerce, is the process used to distribute, buy, sell or market goods and services, and the transfer of funds online, through electronic communications or networks. Electronic commerce is commonly referred to as Online commerce, Web commerce, e-Business, e-Retail, e-Tailing, e-tailing, ecommerce, e-Commerce, e-commerce, e-com or EC. Well known eCommerce stores include sites like eBay, Dell, Walmart and many more

E-commerce today

With the phenomenal growth of the internet and E-Commerce, anyone can be open for business on an international level 24 hours a day, no matter where the business is physically located.

Even the smallest of businesses can benefit from E-Commerce as the reduction in overhead costs and the increase in international sales allows them to expand their client base and their profit margins. Selling their products and services online has allowed them to step up their business and process requests in a far shorter timeframe.

However, there is another important reason why E-Commerce is a boon to international business i.e. a business owner can choose the location in which the business is based.

Features of E- commerce:• Lower transaction costs. If the site is implemented well, the

web can significantly lower order taking costs and customer service

• Variety for shoppers: It gives people the opportunity to shop in different ways.

• The ability to search large catalogues easily.

• The ability to compare prices between multiple vendors.

E- commerce Enablers They are a group of companies or

organizations whose business model focus on providing and delivering the infrastructure required for e-commerce companies to operate their e-commerce business

E-Payment Systems Electronic Payment is a financial exchange that takes

place online between buyers and sellers. The content of this exchange is usually some form of digital financial instrument (such as encrypted credit card numbers, electronic cheques or digital cash) that is backed by a bank or an intermediary, or by a legal tender.

The various factors that have lead the financial institutions to make use of electronic payments are:

Decreasing technology cost: The technology used in the networks is

decreasing day by day, which is evident from the fact that computers are now dirt-cheap and Internet

is becoming free almost everywhere in the world. Reduced operational and processing cost: Due to reduced technology cost the processing cost of various commerce activities becomes very less. A very simple reason to prove this is the fact that in electronic transactions we save both paper

and time. Increasing online commerce:

E-Payment

The applications that are used to ease up payment in ecommerce stores are called payment gateways. In dealing with business transactions online, consumers usually use credit cards as a form of payment in purchasing certain products or services. The process behind this is, before receiving any payment via credit card, they first pass through a merchant account with a bank and it is then the payment gateway that connects the a certain website to the bank.

Online Shopping

Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet without an intermediary service. An online shop, eshop, e-store, Internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or shopping centre. The process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. When a business buys from another business it is called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping.

E- Retail• E-retail is the sale of a product online.• It is a type of e-commerce.• a "retailer" buys goods or products in large quantities from

manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells.

Some examples of e- shopping malls are Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Inc., Athlete's Foot Group, Inc. (The), DIP, GameStop Corp., etc. smaller quantities to the end-user.

E-BankingInternet banking (or E-banking) means any user with a personal computer and a browser can get connected to his bank -s website to perform any of the virtual banking functions. In internet banking system the bank has a centralized database that is web-enabled. All the services that the bank has permitted on the internet are displayed in menu. The traditional branch model of bank is now giving place to an alternative delivery channels with ATM network, a borderless entity permitting anytime, anywhere and anyhow banking. 

Through Internet banking, you can check your transactions at any time of the day, and as many

times as you want to. Where in a traditional method, you get quarterly statements from the

bank. If the fund transfer has to be made outstation, where the bank does not have a branch, the bank would demand outstation

charges. Whereas with the help of online banking, it will be absolutely free for you.

Some examples of e-banks are:

• Fargo- it has quiken style tools for viewing the spending habit of yours.

• E*Trade Bank provides excellent alerts (such as letting you know when your balance is low), but it doesn't allow you to stop payments on checks

• Citibanks- it has the ability to transfer funds to another account, user or bank.

Phishing Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire

information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail spoofing or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one.

Phishing is an example of social engineering

techniques used to deceive users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.

Here is an example how an phishing e-mail might look like:

• Spelling and bad grammar• Beware of links in email. If you see a link in a

suspicious email message, don't click on it. Rest your mouse (but don't click) on the link to see if the address matches the link that was typed in the message. In the example below the link reveals the real web address, as shown in the box with the yellow background.

• Threats- Cybercriminals often use threats that your security has been compromised e.g. sending e-mail saying that your account may be closed.

• Spoofing popular websites or companies. Scam artists use graphics in email that appear to be connected to legitimate websites but actually take you to phony scam sites or legitimate-looking pop-up windows.

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