Ecommerce Jargon Decoded

By: Vishal Verma

Ecommerce can be a puzzling subject and many of us need a little help decoding it. So here are a few every day E-commerce jargon explained for the lay man--------

Immerce

Immerce is the new expression being used for commerce that is done completely over the Internet.

Merchant Status

Merchant Status is attained, when the merchant rents or buys special software that is used to process the transaction. Depending on the bank and the type of business that you are operating, you may need to purchase or rent a hardware known as a processing terminal.

Merchant Account

A merchant account is obtained only after you successfully attain merchant status. A Merchant Account basically is a link between a business and a merchant bank which allows the merchant to accept credit card payments from customers.

Internet Merchant Account

This account permits the receiving of credit cards online. Transactions are processed online, in real time. If the card is approved, the customer and the merchant are both notified and the sale goes through.

Merchant Brokers

These are brokers that help in setting up credit card accounts for online businesses. They charge a setup fee and lease or sell the software and hardware as required. If getting a merchant account through a traditional bank is proving to be trouble some, merchant brokers are an option.

Extranet

Extranet is an extension of a corporate intranet. It joins the internal network of a company with the intranets of its customers and suppliers. This networking makes it possible to create e-commerce applications that link all parts of a business.

Soft Goods & Hard Goods

Soft goods are items which exist virtually or electronically for example e-books, or music files, that are downloaded. Hard Goods are items that exist in reality, for example books or cds.

Electronic Cash or E-cash

This is cash issued by the bank in the form of numbers. E-cash is anonymous and reusable. Unlike credit card transactions, the identity of the shopper is not known to the merchant.

Electronic Checks

The E-check is a message that contains all of the information that is found on an ordinary cheque, but it is signed digitally, or indorsed and is transmitted electronically by email, fax or phone.The digital signature is encoded by encrypting with the customer’s secret key.

Electronic Wallet

Electronic Wallets store your credit card numbers on your hard drive in an encrypted form. Customers initiate a credit card payment via a secure transaction enabled by the electronic wallet company’s server.

Telephone Billing Systems

Telephone transactions allow the customer to purchase an item or service, and the amount will be billed to his or her telephone bill.

Micro transactions or Micro payments

Micro transactions are transactions of tiny amounts, only some cents or dollars, normally made in order to download or access graphics, games, and information.

Disintermediation

Disintermediation is the method of evading retail channels or mail order houses and selling directly to the customer.

Commerce Service Providers (CSP)

CSPs are business web sites that provide ecommerce solutions.

High Risk Processors

High risk processors or brokers are financial institutions or companies that that issue merchant status accounts to high risk businesses.