#1 Credit cards
Credit cards are still the most popular way for paying for goods and services on the 'Net. The more card types you can accept, the better your sales will be.
#2 ATM / Debit cards
These cards are used widely in Europe and are of increasing importance in the US, with CardData reporting a 42% annual growth rate last year as opposed to 15% for credit cards. The major advantage for the merchant is that they carry significantly lower transaction costs than checks.
#3 Purchasing cards
Purchasing cards are credit cards that corporations issue to their employees for buying products and services at selected businesses Purchasing card transaction volume in the United States totalled $20 billion in 1997, and the volume is projected to double in 1998.
They are widely tipped to become the standard for business-to-business purchases on the 'Net.
#4 Digital cash
To use digital cash, both the customer and the merchant need to have an account with a bank that issues it. The bank provides customers with "purse" software for managing and transferring their digital cash. Customers convert funds from their regular accounts into digital cash and then transfer it to the purse software, where it is stored on the their hard drive in encoded form until it is spent.
#5 Micropayments
The major advantages of digital cash are the relatively low transaction costs and the fact that it can be divided into smaller denominations than are used in the real world. This makes it suitable for use in low value transactions such as paying for a stock quote or news article. These small denomination tokens are known as microcash and transactions with them are called microtransactions or micropayments.
#6 Electronic checks
In virtually all aspects an electronic check has the same features as a paper check. Indeed, in its simplest form some systems merely require the customer to fill out a form in the Web store. This data is then transferred to the merchant where it is converted in to a paper cheque by using blank check forms in a standard office printer.
A further level of security can be obtained by utilising third parties that provide additional services such as verification.
#7 VirtualPIN
For consumers who are not keen to transmit their credit card numbers across the 'Net, First Virtual's VirtualPIN service provides an additional level of security. First Virtual issues a VirtualPIN to the customer, after they have provided their credit card number over a voice telephone. Customers can then use their VirtualPIN in lieu of a credit card number. For each purchase, First Virtual sends the user an e-mail message asking them to confirm the transaction. Once First Virtual receives the confirmation back, the credit card transaction is processed off the Internet and an e-mail is sent to the merchant authorising them to ship the goods.
#8 Digital Wallets
Other ways of increasing credit card security come from CyberCash and Verifone, who both provide consumers with a helper application called a "wallet". In the process of setting up the wallet, the consumer provides their credit-card information and receives an encrypted code that refers to their credit card in return. When making a purchase at a participating Web store, the wallet passes the code to the merchant. The merchant then hands that code, along with the purchase price, to the wallet issuer who verifies the transaction with the credit-card company and transfers the funds to the merchant along with an authorisation to ship the product.
#9 eCHARGE
The eCHARGE system allows consumers to charge the cost of Web purchase to their normal telephone bills. It is currently only available to merchants in the US and Canada although an expansion in to Europe is planned this year.
#10 Traditional payment methods
Electronic payment via the Web is still in its infancy, and many customers will want to use more traditional payment methods such as paper cheques or Cash on Delivery.
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