Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Secure Sockets Layer
All online shoppers fear the theft of credit card numbers and banking information. To help
prevent this type of identity theft, the
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
communications protocol
is used to secure sensitive data. The SSL communications protocol includes a handshake
stage, which authenticates the server (and the client, if needed), determines the encryption
and hashing algorithms to be used, and exchanges encryption keys. Following the handshake
stage, data might be transferred. The data is always encrypted, ensuring that your transactions
are not subject to interception or “sniffing” by a third party. Although SSL handles the
encryption part of a secure e-commerce transaction, a digital certificate is necessary to provide
server identification.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
A communications protocol is used
to secure sensitive data during
e-commerce.
Electronic Cash
Electronic cash
is an amount of money that is computerized, stored, and used as cash for
e-commerce transactions. Typically, consumers must open an account with an electronic
cash service provider by providing identification information. When the consumers want to
withdraw electronic cash to make a purchase, they access the service provider via the Internet
and present proof of identity—a digital certificate issued by a certification authority or a
username and password. After verifying a consumer's identity, the system debits the con-
sumer's account and credits the seller's account with the amount of the purchase. PayPal,
BillMeLater, MoneyZap, and TeleCheck are four popular forms of electronic cash.
The SSL communications protocol assures customers that information they provide to
retailers, such as credit card numbers, cannot be viewed by anyone else on the Web.
The PayPal service of eBay enables any person or business with an e-mail address to
securely, easily, and quickly send and receive payments online. To send money, you enter
the recipient's e-mail address and the amount you want to send. You can pay with a credit
card, debit card, or funds from a checking account. The recipient gets an e-mail that says,
“You've Got Cash!” Recipients can then collect their money by clicking a link in the e-mail
that takes them to
www.paypal.com
.
To receive the money, the user also must have a credit
card or checking account to accept fund transfers. To request money for an auction, invoice
a customer, or send a personal bill, you enter the recipient's e-mail address and the amount
you are requesting. The recipient gets an e-mail and instructions on how to pay you using
PayPal. PayPal serves more than 60 million active accounts worldwide. It is available in 190
markets and processes payments in 17 currencies around the world.
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Bill Me Later by I4 Commerce is for customers who do not have a credit card or prefer
not to use a credit card online. To make a purchase, an existing account owner provides
basic information, such as the last four digits of a Social Security number and date of birth.
Within seconds, Bill Me Later qualifies the customer, completes the purchase, and sends a
bill. The customer can pay the cost in full or finance the purchase over time. Bill Me Later
is currently available at over 750 leading stores, including Apple, Champs Sports, FTD.com,
JetBlue, Overstock, Reebok, ToysRUs, and Walmart.com, with more stores expected to
participate.
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MoneyZap is a service offered by Western Union that enables consumers and businesses
to pay retailers from an existing checking account. They must complete a one-time registra-
tion and provide their name, address, checking account information, Social Security number,
e-mail address, and home phone number. After successfully registering, they can authorize
payments using their username and password. An electronic funds transfer is initiated to
debit money from their account and transfer money to the merchant.
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The TeleCheck Electronic Check Acceptance Verification service from First Data offers
merchants a safe option for accepting and processing checks at the point-of-sale that avoids
the high bank service fees associated with credit cards. When a customer presents the mer-
chant with a paper check, the merchant uses the service to perform a risk assessment using
check writer negative and activity databases to assess the risk of accepting the check. If the
check passes the verification criteria, the TeleCheck ECA Verification service converts the
paper check into an electronic transaction at the point-of-sale. The Automated Clearing
House (ACH) network is used to process the transaction, and funds are deposited directly
into the merchant's bank account within two business days.
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electronic cash
An amount of money that is
computerized, stored, and used as
cash for e-commerce transactions.
