The smart card offers advantages to e-cash because the electronic money can pass from several different users without requiring bank involvement or validation. This factors lowers transaction costs and makes the technology more attractive. Depending on how sophisticated the card is, a consumer can interface the card with other hardware. Although the cards have numerous advantages, less advanced Internet users may choose to pay through a more traditional method such as the credit card, discussed in brief in the next section. Credit Cards Credit cards offer merchants and consumers with a traditional approach to transacting business.
Business owners can authenticate credit cards through automatic connections to settlement companies.
This system verifies the consumer s address to help ensure that the consumer is not fraudulently using the card. For small business, outsourcing the payment solution may be a more feasible alternative to developing an in-house package. There are several companies, such as Anacom Merchant Services, that offer online order processing and payment solutions. The Electronic Commerce Guide offers several links to merchants that provide payment services. You can choose to outsource the design and payment system for a web site or build your own.