E-Commerce Definitions
E-commerce: (Electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of goods or services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. In practice, this term and a newer term, e-business, are often used interchangeably. For online retail selling, the term e-tailing is sometimes used.
As a place for direct retail shopping, with its 24-hour availability, a global reach, the ability to interact and provide custom information and ordering, and multimedia prospects, the Web is rapidly becoming a multibillion dollar source of revenue for the world's businesses. A number of businesses already report considerable success. As early as the middle of 1997, Dell Computers reported orders of a million dollars a day. By early 1999, projected e-commerce revenues for business were in the billions of dollars and the stocks of companies deemed most adept at e-commerce were skyrocketing.
The Security of Business Transactions includes authenticating business transactors, controlling access to resources such as Web pages for registered or selected users, encrypting communications, and in general, ensuring the privacy and effectiveness of transactions. Among the most widely-used security technologies is the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which is built into both of the leading Web browsers.
Transaction Processor: a company which receives data from website programs, that offer online purchasing, and performs the following service for the owner of that website:
a. verifies the identity of the purchaser;
b. verifies that the purchaser's account is active, valid and that funds are available;
c. assuming ID is valid and funds are available, purchase amount is "set aside" (frozen);
d. purchaser is informed of outcome - transaction approved or not;
e. approved purchases are then sent to a "Settlement Processor".
Settlement Processor: a company which is authorized by the banking networks to transfer funds from a purchaser's account to a merchant's account, after a Transaction Processor has verified the purchasing action.