Internet Payment Mechanisms: Acceptance and Control Issues

Abstract

Internet online sales totaled $7.8 billion for 1998, with the average online shopper spending $629 (Fasig, 1999). During the 1999 holiday season, online sales were reportedly double that of 1998 at many “e-tailers” (although final statistics had not been published as this chapter went to press). As Web-based consumer sales grow, so does interest in new online payment mechanisms. This paper reviews several mechanisms that were in use in fall 1999. We assess control issues associated with each and use Diffusion of Innovations theory to assess perceived payment mechanism benefits and risks. We do not pretend to offer the “latest word” on any particular forms of payment, since by the time of publication, new or improved mechanisms will have emerged.1