Archive for the ‘ecommerce’ Category
Add to Basket -> Proceed to Check Out
Online shopping implementations often hit a few bumps at the payment gateway integration stage. It usually starts with lots of paper work between banks, payment gateway providers, and the customer, then we have to deal with API’s, security, transaction receipts, audit trails, delayed transactions, duplicate transactions, refunds and finally the ticket clipping at every turn and that’s just the from the web developers perspective.
The end user on the other hand has to deal with security, scams, fees and that little thought in the back of the head that says “is this safe?”.
That’s why I got really excited when I read about a low cost alternative which requires no credit card and very little integration.
It works like this, you’re at an online shopping site, you find something you like, add it to basket and then proceed to checkout. Instead of entering credit card details you are directed to your online banking site where you can login and pay directly from your bank account. Payment is instantly debited from your account and the merchant is immediately notified that the payment has occurred. A credit card is not required. It uses the pay anyone feature of most online banking websites in conjunction with a service provider which “connects” your bank payment receipt with the website provider.
Apparently the introduction of this system was a parting wish of the former Reserve Bank Governor, Ian Macfarlane.
Of course banks are not going to like it much because they make money from charging merchant fees on traditional credit card based payment gateways but it’s great for the consumer. This payment method has already gained traction in many parts of the world and is starting to get some momentum in Australia. Poli, a cute acronym for Pay Online, is a joint venture between Melbourne based Centricom and Unisys, and as far as I am aware are the only providers of this service in Australia. The Centricom site says that the Poli system it is being used on the Dodo World website but I encountered some ineresting usability issues which prevented me from getting anywhere near the checkout, but that’s a story for another posting.
In theory it all sounds pretty good but as is the case with all new technology there will be obstacles. Firstly, consumers just love their frequent flyer points which are accrued through credit card usage and I don’t see this love affair slowing anytime soon. Secondly, most providers such as Poli require the end user to download a badboy i.e. an ActiveX control. This means no support for Firefox and a perceived security issue i.e. does the ActiveX control store my banking username name and password?
Despite the hurdles it would be fantastic to see an alternate solution gain momentum in Australia because it would utlimately make online shopping a lot more accessible, especially for people who either do not have or do not want to use a credit card…and that’s got to be a good thing.
