Enter digital wallets, software that eases the online shopping experience. Instead of reaching into their back pockets, consumers can use digital wallets to securely hold theircredit-cardnumber, shipping and mailing addresses and other personal information online. One Form for All When using a digital wallet, consumers don't need to fill out order forms on each site when they purchase an item because the information has already been stored and is automatically updated and entered into the order fields across merchant sites. Consumers also benefit when using digital wallets because their information is encrypted or protected by a private software code. And merchants benefit by receiving protection against fraud.
Digital wallets are available to consumers free of charge, and they're fairly easy to obtain.
For example, when a consumer makes a purchase at a merchantsite that's set up to handle server-side digital wallets, he types his name and payment and shipping information into the merchant's own form. At the end of the purchase, the consumer is asked to sign up for a wallet of his choice by entering a user name and password for futurepurchases. Userscan also acquire wallets at a wallet vendor's site. Although a wallet is free for consumers, vendors charge merchants for wallets. Some wallet vendors make arrangements for merchants to pay them a percentage of every successful purchase directed through their wallets.