Traditionally, in the case of an online auction, the winning bidder would have to send a personal check or money order by mail to the seller. PayPal is now considered to be much safer, because the seller and buyer do not have access to each other s financial account information. Online payment systems such as PayPal are another way money is being transferred from person to person electronically. The systems are being used primarily for web-based auctions, but their use could extend further as more business is conducted online. The Internet has made electronic commerce as we know it possible.
Most people access the Internet with a personal computer.
This may begin to change in the future as manufacturers release new set-top box technology for televisions. Millions of set-top boxes have been and are being deployed in many homes by the cable industry. As the processing power of these boxes increase, they are able to perform additional functions, including access to information from the Internet. Once the terminals have the ability to access the Internet, they can provide a wide-variety of interactive content. Electronic commerce could be a popular use of this new technology.