Electronic Commerce Reality in Tunisia

Abstract

This chapter has as an aim the identification of the present reality of the e-commerce activity in Tunisia and the challenges its faces. After giving an overview on the e-commerce birth in the country, it focuses on two distinct experiences: First, the e-commerce transactions via the Tunisian Post Office (known as the ONP) and secondly the e-commerce operations via the Banking Association (known as the SMT). While exploring the general scheme of the two different techniques notably concerning the relation with the merchants’ commercial Websites (CWS), it gives statistics related to the evolution of transactions in this field. We depart from that point to discuss the general situation of the Tunisian e-commerce activity, to explore the problems it faces and to give potential solutions for its real expansion and development in the country. In this regard, we believe that the spread of use of bank cards and other forms of electronic payments would make citizens used to those forms and would constitute therefore the real takeoff point of the e-commerce activity.