The two types of customer payments I want to discuss, as explained by Kutz (2016), are

payment per credit card and payment by e-payment.

According to Kutz (2016), the steps of the payment per credit card process are in
this order: order, invoicing, payment acceptance by credit card, delivery, and finally
forwarding of invoice if that step wasn’t already completed via the Web. To put it simply,
a consumer orders a product from a Web store, at the end of the ordering process they
provide their credit card information, the consumer is charged for the order and receives
a receipt (usually instantly via email), and the company ships and delivers the product to
the consumer. The benefits of this payment method, for one, is the speed and simplicity
for both the business and the consumer. A benefit to the consumer is that thy are able to
make a purchase with credit and pay it off at a later date. A huge benefit to the business
is that the payment is guaranteed by the credit card company (Kutz, 2016).

Potential problems of payment per credit card are that the consumer paid, but
the product is never delivered. Another potential issue could be a discrepancy between
what’s listed on the invoice for the order and what is actually delivered to the consumer
(Kutz, 2016). And of course, there are cyber security issues. If the right cyber security is
not implemented by the business for their Web store, it can put the consumer at risk of
having their credit card information stolen.

Another type of customer payment is e-payment. There are many different

providers as well as methods for e-payment, so I will focus on the email-based method
known as Venmo. Venmo can also be utilized via a mobile app once you have established
an account, entered your banking account or debit card information, and verified that
information. Venmo provides the ability for consumers to send and receive money
amongst any consumer who has an account with Venmo. The benefits of e-payments in
general are also speed and simplicity. Another large benefit is that the transaction is
protected with SSL encryption, and the finance data of the sender is not communication
to the receiver, which helps avoid any potential fraud or misuse of that information
(Kutz, 2016).

One potential issue with e-payment is that although there is normally a lot of
cyber security in place, the potential for hacking, stolen financial data, and fraud are still
present. Another potential problem is that the consumer will need to be somewhat
current with their knowledge of technology. For example, I would never be able to
explain e-payment or how to use it to any of my grandparents. Also, one downside of
e-payment providers such as Venmo is that there are sometimes fees to instantly
transfer a balance (received money) to your bank account.

I personally use both credit card and e-payment. I put almost all of my purchases
on my Discover credit card for the simple fact that I get money back which can range
from 1%-5% depending on the type of purchase and the promotion at that time. The only
issue I’ve ever faced with this method, and it’s specific to Discover, is that it is not
accepted by as many businesses as Visa and MasterCard are. For e-payment, I regularly
use Venmo. My use ranges anywhere from paying my rent and utilities through it every
month, to sending one of my friends a few dollars for pizza. The only issue I’ve faced with
Venmo, as stated above, is that there’s a fee to instantly transfer your balance to your
bank account. Although, I normally do not need the money immediately and the free
transfer usually only takes 1-3 days.

References

Kutz, M. (2016). Introduction to Electronic Commerce: Combining Business and Information

Technology. Bookboon.com