Question one
The electronic bill payment industry is changing rapidly and its leadership is unstable. The future holds many uncertainties for CheckFree. It can be for the better or worse. A Garner study found that 50% of the internet users do not want to use the internet for bill payment even if the billing costs can be reduced up to 50%.
Consumers have resisted online bill payment for more than twenty years.
Another problem CheckFree face is that consumers cannot visit a single web site and find a listing of all the bills they need to pay, along with complete transaction detail. At the moment, they have to visit multiple web sites to do multiple transactions. This further discourages internet users.
Consumers also have face problems with online bill payment errors, lost payments, and failure of providers to correct errors. Garner study found 20% of online bill payers drop the service each year, mostly because of payment problems and difficulties of understanding the web sites.
Its main competitors are TransPoint (a joint venture of Microsoft and First Data Corporation) which they bought in 2001. CheckFree’s next largest competitor is Metavante, (subsidiary of Marshall and Ilsley Bank) which offers direct online “pay anyone” services to customers through a joint venture with First Union Bank, J.P. Morgan, and Wells Fargo & Co.
Other merchants
are also opposing CheckFree because they want to be
“direct billers” such as
Banks also want customers to use their web sites to pay bill as part of the financial services package they offer. Likewise with credit card companies such as MasterCard and Visa which offer customers online payment services. They handle up to 30 million customers with detailed credit card statements. Hence, they can easily broaden their services to include presenting bills from other merchant as well.
Meanwhile EBPP such as CheckFree want consumers to visit and use their EBPP sites so they can charge hefty fees for the privilege.
As our world advances in technology, CheckFree try to adapt. They use proprietary technology for its software and builds custom linkages between its bill presentation software and the merchant’s backend legacy systems that keep track of consumers’ detailed transaction data.
Currently, new
competitors have entered the marketplace using XML-based solutions built on
open Web standards which can be purchased for much lower costs than CheckFree software, and can be easily integrated into the
merchant’s existing transaction system. For example,
Alternative forms of digital payment are rapidly gaining in popularity as well such as eCheck and PayPal. They are growing very fast, much faster than CheckFree before. Once customers are accustomed to PayPal’s easy-to-use interface, they can be introduced to additional services such as bill presentation. Then in no time they can replace CheckFree leadership.
I think word of mouth is still the best way to inhibit or encourage use of CheckFree’s service. When a family member or friends introduce the service to another family member or friends, the effect will be greater. People may try it because another person had tried it and it makes their life better.
However, this will only work if the existing customers are happy or at least satisfied with the service. Therefore, it is very important that CheckFree give full attention and effort to the customers. Mistakes should be little and contact must be maintained.
Beside word of mouth, CheckFree can also introduce a forum where, social interaction is encouraged among users. In this forum, users can hear from other user about the service and ask questions. An administrator from CheckFree can also interact in the forum to answer difficult question and promote the service.
CheckFree's newest transaction processing platform,
"Genesis," was developed to ensure the quality and scalability
required to support large-scale consumer adoption of electronic billing and
payment. The system is designed to support electronic transactions from as many
as one-third of all households in the
(http://xml.coverpages.org/checkfree199903.html , p. 3)
Compared five
years ago and now, a lot more people have internet connections within their
reach. More and more people open themselves to the Internet technology and
adapt to its potential capabilities. As it is mentioned above, CheckFree already have the technology to support electronic
transaction for one-third of the
More over, broadband Internet is much faster than typical 56k internet connections which make downloading and uploading faster. People find that it will take them about a minute to pay bill online, hence, encouraging them to try and use it. People no longer need to go to bank or places to pay bills, which cut down transportation cost and time. Once they find that Internet will make their life better, the growth of online bill payment will increase.
Along the way EBPP should continuously solve and fix any common errors and faults found in online bill payment. Hence, people would stay to use the service year after year.
Reference
CheckFree Rolls Out First Large-Scale System Support for
OFX Specification for Electronic Banking and Bill Payment, 1999.
http://xml.coverpages.org/checkfree199903.html
Question 2
Discuss the implications of Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act
2000 in protecting intellectual property on the Internet.
Intellectual property (IP) law definition – Intellectual Property is any product of human intellect that is unique and un-obvious with some value in the marketplace. Intellectual property laws cover ideas, inventions, literary creations, unique names, business models, industrial processes, computer program code, and more.
(http://www.legal-database.com/ , p.1)
There are three types of intellectual property: copyright, patents and trademarks.
Copyright is a type of legal protection for people who express ideas and information in certain forms. The most common forms are: writing, visual images, music and moving images. (http://www.copyright.org.au/, p.1)
A work does not need to be published, registered, or have the copyright notice on it, to be protected as it is automatic. Copyright protection can lasts to 70 years from the end of the year the creator dies.
A patent is a right granted for any device, substance, method or process which is new, inventive and useful. A patent is legally enforceable and gives the owner the exclusive right to commercially exploit the invention for the life of the patent. This is not automatic-you must apply for the rights of ownership to your invention. (http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/ p. 1)
A trade mark can be a word, phrase,
letter, number, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect
of packaging or a combination of these. It is used to distinguish the goods and
services of one trader from those of another. A registered trade mark gives you
the legal right to use, license or sell it within
In
The generation of new ideas is necessary for a society to prosper. It can be time-consuming and costly to generate and develop ideas, so there must be reward for those who do. If there is not, nobody will bother to create. (Weckert, J (1997, p. 182)
If intellectual property is not protected, nobody really wants to publicize their work, since they get nothing from it. Creators want to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts. Copyright and patent laws simply facilitate financial reward as the creator can gain profit from their ideas or even make a living from it. Other people will have to follow the regulations which may include paying to use that idea.
The Copyright Amendment help copyright owner’s to showcase their creation and share it to the world which in turn gives them profits in the process. In the past, idea creators can share their idea with the world, but, their works are not protected. Hence, there was a frenzy of file suit happening in the past regarding intellectual property. Companies sue other companies for copying their ideas without consent and making profit in the process. Many used the ideas like it’s their own ideas and do whatever they like with it. After cases and cases, rules are made to protect these ideas. The copyright Amendment limits the idea for wide usage. It gives the right only to the copyright owner’s to do as they please. They may choose to keep the idea buried and nobody can do anything. They can also broadcast their ideas or post it on the internet or allow download for other people to use.
Copyright owner’s, who exposed
their work, may face problems such as piracy still. Even though there are
regulations that exist, it does not stop people to use it for personal benefit
and ignoring the rules. However, they are entitled to take civil legal action
against the other party infringing copyright.
You might infringe copyright (break the rule) if you do any of the following:
• print material from a website or a bulletin board without express or implied permission;
• download a pirated version of a movie (that is, a movie posted to the Net or made available by P2P software or over P2P networks without permission);
• save material from a website or a bulletin board onto your hard drive without express or implied permission;
• download pirated copies of a song or software; or
• email material from a website or a bulletin board to other people without express or implied permission. (http://www.copyright.org.au/, p.20)
There is normally a statement on the web site about what you are permitted and not permitted to do. You need to get permission from the owner of copyright to do something outside the stated rules. You can send an email to the general email address on the website, or to the web master. Certain provisions allow governments and educational institutions to do various things with copyright material, including placing that material on intranets. Students may also use the information for a fair use (reasonable use) for the purposes of criticism or review with sufficient acknowledgment for the work such as writing down the author’s name.
Reference
Brien, C. MGT220 eCommerce, Faculty of Commerce, readings, pp. 182-188.
Australian Copyright Council, 2005,
Copyright in Australia, modified
http://www.copyright.org.au/information/
Australian Copyright Council, 2005,
Information sheet G56, Internet: copying,
& downloading material, September 2004, viewed
http://www.copyright.org.au/pdf/acc/InfoSheets/G056.pdf
Australian Copyright Council, 2005,
Information sheet G10, An introduction to
copyright in
http://www.copyright.org.au/pdf/acc/InfoSheets/G010.pdf
Australia Government IP Australia,
2005, what is a patent, viewed
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/what_index.shtml
Australia Government IP Australia,
2005, what is a trade mark, viewed
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/what_index.shtml
Legal definitions, Intellectual
Property Law Definition, viewed
http://www.legal-definitions.com/IP/intellectual-property-law.htm
Question three
Discuss the effectiveness of third-party assurance services such as VeriSign in protecting customers’ rights and building up
customers’ confidence in e-commerce systems. How can you know whether the
assurance service providers themselves are reliable?
VeriSign
is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program and is
authorized to use the TRUSTe trust mark. They are an
independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and
confidence in the Internet by promoting the principles of disclosure and
informed consent. They have agreed to disclose its privacy, practices and have
them reviewed and audited for compliance by TRUSTe. (http://www.verisign.com/ , p.1)
TRUSTe
provides online third party dispute resolution at no cost to anyone who files
an eligible complaint about a TRUSTe Licensee through
its Watchdog Dispute Resolution program. This service is paid for by Licensees
as part of their certification fee. The Watchdog Dispute Resolution program
allows TRUSTe to initiate a negotiation between the
individual complainant and the Licensee. At no point is the individual’s right
to legal recourse affected. While TRUSTe’s final
determination is not binding on the individual, the Licensee must comply with TRUSTe’s final determination or face removal from the TRUSTe program, a legal proceeding for breach of the TRUSTe License Agreement, and/or referral to an appropriate
law enforcement body. (http://www.truste.org/
, p.1)
Having the third party shows to the customers that they are for real, not joking around or fake. They are very serious in their job in protecting the customers’ information. They have security measures in place to prevent loss, misuse, and alteration of any personal information. To minimize risk from losing information through the internet, they encrypt all information in ordering products or services using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. Their security procedures are also subject to at least an annual SAS-70 Type II audit by an internationally-recognized accounting firm.
The information collected will not
be divulged to other party if that party is not in the same agreement with VeriSign. Hence, all party involved are assured will keep
the information secret and use it purposefully. The information may be revealed
to local, state, federal, national or international government or law
enforcement authorities if required, as required under the terms of export
licenses. They will also reveal information to third parties as necessary in
order to comply with applicable laws and regulations. VeriSign
may also share information when investigate, prevent, or take action regarding
illegal activities or suspected fraud, or enforce or apply VeriSign's
agreements.
Privacy Policy EnforcementVeriSign
supports TRUSTe's comprehensive assurance process. In
order to ensure compliance with its Privacy Program, TRUSTe
monitors our site by conducting initial and periodic reviews and
"seeding" (tracking unique identifiers in our site's database). TRUSTe also relies on online users to report violations of
posted privacy statements or specific privacy concerns. If a TRUSTe participant is suspected of not conforming to the TRUSTe principles, TRUSTe will
investigate the issue, which could result in penalties, additional audits, or
revocation of the participant's right to use the TRUSTe
trustmark. Extreme violations may even be escalated
to the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"). (http://www.verisign.com/ , p.1)
The above mentioned is how
third-party assurance services like VeriSign can
build up customers’ confidence. They gave detail information to consumers about
what personal information their site have gathered, how they use and with whom
they share it, the consumer’s ability to avoid future notifications, security
procedures to protect any personal information from loss, misuse, or
alteration. They also give freedom and freewill to customers as they do not
collect personal information unless the consumer provides it.
Information asked maybe like name,
address, telephone number, e-mail address, credit card number, bank account
information, IP address, and/or social security number, depending on the type
of product or service the customer request. They do not collect any personal
data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or
philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health, or sex life.
VeriSign
records down statistic information when customers visit their site. This
information does not identify the customers’ personally, but rather identifies
information about a visit to their site. They collect information such as how
many people visit their site, the user's IP address, which pages people visit,
from which domains their visitors come and which browsers people use. This is
to help improve the performance of their Web site. Surveys are also done
occasionally which are voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or
not to disclose this information. Survey information will be used for purposes
of monitoring or improving the use of and satisfaction with this Web site, and
improving our customer service and product offerings. This approach will help
increase the effectiveness of their service.
We can see if they are reliable
when they have appropriate background information (to judge similarity and
reputation), give attention (exchanges showing that each party cares) and
having trusting and trustworthy behaviour (to invite
trust and fulfillment of promises). (Olson, J. S., 2000, p.211)
Reference
VeriSign, , About VeriSign,
http://www.verisign.com/Privacy/
Truste, TRUSTe Watchdog Dispute Resolution and Appeal
Process,
http://www.truste.org/consumers/compliance.php
Brien, C. MGT220 eCommerce, Faculty of Commerce, readings, pp. 211.
http://elvin-muliadi.tripod.com