What is E-commerce?
All hail the internet, which has allowed eCommerce platforms to provide an extensive spectrum of services worldwide, such as the transfer of electronic mail, money, files, cheques, etc. The flourished outcome of these eCommerce services is due to the openness, speed, global accessibility, advertising and digitization that the internet provides. With this, eCommerce can provide a business environment enabling the electronic transfer of transactional information. E-commerce has incorporated commerce with new technologies like ePayment, and eBanking for functions like funds transfer, signing contracts, transferring tangible goods, etc.
What is m-commerce?
One device considered one of humanity’s essential needs nowadays is the mobile phone, the most portable device that keeps them connected to the world anywhere and anytime. E-commerce advancement wouldn’t have been possible to this level without the wireless revolution these mobile devices brought. Instead of only processing transactions from fixed locations in the past, this technology enables transactions to be processed in real-time. So, mobile eCommerce or m-commerce can be defined as an extension of electronic commerce platforms to simplify wireless transactions, especially bill payment.
Let us break down the benefits of m-commerce platforms in the following pointers as compared to the transactions happening from the fixed networks in an E-commerce environment:
- Mobile payment systems (MPS) have enabled their users to access the internet and make transactions on a real-time basis.
- With the latest developments in features and technologies of these devices, mobile phones can be customized to suit the users’ requirements. It also allows mobile operators to provide services to these users according to their needs.
- Mobile phones are winning the game of portability, given the slim structure and lightweight, which allows them to be carried out anywhere.
Understanding the mechanisms of mobile payment:
Making payments for any required tangible or intangible goods and services is one of the critical features of any electronic commerce platform, this type of payment is known as ePayment. Such payments can be made using several sources of funds, such as credit cards, debit cards, eCheques, eCash, etc., but the most common method of payment used by businesses today is the mobile payment system. The transaction occurs in a wireless network without any physical purchase request or invoice receipts. Therefore ensuring a secured network to authenticate multiple transactions is utmost.
Features of mobile payment systems:
- They are simple and user-friendly, designed to reduce users’ learning curve to none.
- They have a universal approach to supporting transactions from different sources, such as B2B, B2C, etc., and they operate globally, surpassing geographical boundaries.
- Mobile payments have proved to be the most secure platform for online payments preserving the customer’s privacy and being resistant to hackers and cyber-attacks.
- They incur zero processing cost of transactions until and unless the merchants and banking institutions involved incorporate their specific terms and conditions.
The mobile payment system is a vast domain that involves various stakeholders in the form of consumers, merchants, mobile device operators and manufacturers, software developers, and government agencies. All the players involved have goals and objectives that may create a conflict of interest. Still, the system is very well playing its part in creating a seamless and secure environment for eCommerce transactions.
