Electronic money and electronic commerce

Electronic money

Most workers now have their wages paid into their bank account electronically - the money is transferred directly into their account from their employer. Being paid in cash is now rare.

We don't use cash to pay for goods and services as often as we used to because there are now many electronic methods of payment, for example:

• direct debit
• standing order
• debit cards (Switch/Delta)
• smart cards
• using Internet bank accounts

Electronic Commerce

Electronic Commerce - often shortened to E-commerce - is the name given to selling and buying things using the InternetInternet : A global network connecting millions of computers..

E-commerce is important because:

• Many people now have Internet connections.
• Setting up a company websitewebsite : A set of web pages. and doing business through it can be a lot more cost effective than using purely traditional shops.
• Companies can have a national or even international customer "reach" with a website.
• Information about goods and services for sale can be put on the World Wide WebWorld Wide Web: WWW - a network of web pages and sites..
• People can find exactly what they need without hunting round shops or phoning around.
• Online catalogues can offer more detail than can be found from a shop assistant.
• Online catalogues can be examined at leisure rather than in a hurry at a shop.
• People do not leave their homes to shop using E-Commerce.
• The costs of delivery of goods are low and many carriers are available.

There are some disadvantages of e-commerce for the customer:

• no human interaction
• Returning goods can be inconvenient and/or expensive.
• There is a risk of fraud - goods may not arrive or be late.
• A substitute product may be sent if your requested product is out of stock.