Electronic Payments & Consumer Empowerment - Security and Payment, E-Commerce | E-Commerce - B Com PDF Download

ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS AND CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT 

Electronic payments empower the consumer in several fundamental ways that cash and cheques cannot. One of the clearest ways is the security that dispute resolution provides, offering consumers a form of insurance against purchases of faulty goods or services that are not delivered or lower in quality than expected. Insurance against lost, stolen or otherwise unauthorized use allows consumers to quickly shield themselves from liability, at zero cost in some markets, unlike lost cash or cheques. Electronic payments also provide the ability to control payment for goods and services over time by allowing buyers to pay now, pay later, or prepay. Credit cards provide liquidity through preapproved credit availability, something that transaction-specific loans cannot do. This works favorably for consumers, merchants, and banks because the process facilitates current period sales while minimising the cost of obtaining credit. Debit cards offer convenient and immediate access to funds on deposit. Globally branded electronic payments have the ubiquitous and interoperable features that lend themselves to immediate acceptability by consumers and businesses. Despite the value that consumers place on electronic payments, and the benefits that extend to economies from the underlying system, concerns are sometimes raised about abuse of credit and erosion of consumer wealth. Often these concerns are raised in the context of new regulations that would raise barriers to consumer access to credit and are based on an implicit assertion that expanded credit availability and use produces widespread harm to consumers. However, with the application of an objective analysis quite a different picture emerges. An in-depth study of consumer behavior in Australia provides some insights into the  level and sophistication of payment usage and clearly shows that consumers have a high level of understanding of payments and responsibly manage revolving credit.