Generically speaking, e-commerce is the facilitation of business done over The Internet. The good thing about The Internet is that it is much cheaper to sell your products. Another advantage is the quick changing landscape and competition that are driving the costs of doing business on The Internet lower seemingly everyday.
Many businesses start out by only accepting personal checks and money orders.
To start this all you need is a checking account, a web-site that displays your products and an order form that sends the customers' order information to you. However, for most businesses this limits the audience to sell their wares to, and credit-card processing becomes the preferred method of receiving payment. To accept credit card payment it is necessary to have a merchant account. There are several resources for obtaining a merchant account. Financial institutions, such as your local bank can provide you with a merchant account.