Background
The author of the article is Singh Sumanjeet of the University of New Delhi. The article written is called “Emergence of payment systems in the age of electronic commerce: the state of the art.” The article is featured in the second issue of the second volume of “Global journal of international business research” for the year 2009.
The major issue being discussed in the article is how trade has faced a major revolution by the use of online payment systems. According to Stanford-Smith and Chiozza (354) new online payment systems are very critical in ensuring that electronic commerce is taken to the next level.
Over the years the growth of internet technologies and other web based applications has led to the soaring levels of electronic commerce. Forex transactions have equally improved much because of these e-payment systems. Exchange of commodities is now done mostly online. This has necessitated the need for online payment systems. These are widely discussed by the author in the article.
Title and Abstract
The aptness and clarity of the title is beyond question. The title is very appropriate as relates to the discussion that follows. However, the part titled “the state of art” in the article receives very little attention by the author. On a general scale though, the title reflects the discussion in the paper. As concerns the specificity of the abstract, it is very specific as the author gives a classic introduction of the whole subject to be discussed.
A link between why e-payment systems come in play and the whole concept of the electronic commerce are so aptly woven in the abstract. This especially is in line with B2B, B2C and even some instances C2C models. Further a highlight of the several e-payment systems is given just as much as the advantages to be expected. In general terms, the specificity of the abstract is admirable.
Terminology
- B2B. Business to business electronic commerce model where businesses are able to collaborate online.
- B2C. Business to consumer electronic commerce model where businesses collaborate with consumers in the facilitation of trade by use of web based applications.
- C2C. Consumer to consumer electronic commerce model which facilitates consumers who would want to sell products to other consumers. Used mostly by E-bay.
- E-payment. Electronic payment; where payments for commodities and services are made over the internet.
- E-commerce. Electronic commerce where commerce related activities are carried out online.
- Forex. Refers to foreign exchange where currencies are bought and sold.
Purpose of the Article and Its Clarity
The purpose of the article is made very clear to us by the author. It is easier for anyone scanning through the article to understand the author reinforces the fact that e-commerce has led to a development of systems that will be compatible with that type of trade. Further the examples of online payment systems like the e-cash, online credit cards among others simply make the purpose clearer. We however may not be in a position to understand from the onset whether these systems are advocated for or not buy the author.
According to Gangopadhyay (151) electronic payment systems face a challenge of acceptability. This is a point that is very well captured by the article written. In as much as the author gives a view of how these payment systems have been growing, the article captures a few weaknesses also noted. The author is in congruence with Hedbor (23) who opines that online credit cards pose a very high level of vulnerability as relates to their security.
Methods and Data Collected
The description of experimental methods or how the data was collected is not given and so this is a weakness. The data is majorly secondary and so reliability is diminished. It follows that procedures are lacking, design of the study is weak and the verifiability of the information is subjective.
Errors and misinterpretation
The author meticulously presents the argument. However spelling mistakes at one point and another reduces the trust that one would lay on the arguments. At the same time, some statements lack coherence and so one is not in a position to clearly state what the argument is all about. An error is made in page 18. The last statement before the table indicating sales has no actual factual sense. It is so vague and one finds it hard to understand whether the implications are being related to new developments or the study of the same.
Relevance of the Discussion
The discussion remains relevant through the pages with the author stating the abstract in a way that one can guess what the discussion is all about. Our understanding is made better by the author making a comparison between the conventional and the electronic payment systems. There are some sections in the article that would be better if edited, omitted or condensed. A deeper history of the electronic payment systems would do better if included.
The author would have given a consistent illustration using data if possible of how over the years, there has been growth in the sales and new developments thereof in electronic payments. Section five sounds more like a repetition thereby drawing negation by readers. This section talks of a comparison of the electronic payment systems. This is not a very significant section to the title.
Clarity of statements
The statements by the author are not only very clear but also solidified. The author gives awesome clarity and strength by supporting with data and facts. In the introduction, the author brings to our attention the fact that e-commerce has grown so widely. In doing this he further supports with details for Austraila China, South Korea, India and Japan.
We however may be quick to point out subjectivity in this information. We have no details for America Europe or Africa and so may not conclusively say that the case is the same for these regions too in terms of the growing sales in electronic commerce.
Underlying assumptions
The assumption that the author takes is that as electronic commerce grows, the online payment needs are bound to grow. This of course is a very strong assumption since for proper application of online transactions, there needs to be a payment system in place. Lack of trust on the online payment systems as stated by Abrazhevich (4) may operate to diminish the strength of these payment systems with the growth of e-commerce.
Author’s Objectivity in the Article
Although the paper is written in a desirable way, the author lacks objectivity in a few areas. Mentioning the advantages of electronic payment systems on one end would require that if the author is fair, disadvantages also be noted. However, the author ignores disadvantages and gives much emphasis on the positives of these payment systems only.
However the author gives focus to the security that is an issue especially as relates to the electronic payment systems. This shows a level of objectivity. In the opinion of Bauknecht, Madria and Pernul (91), for a broader acceptance of e-payment systems to be realized, they have to accord a high level of security. Regrettably, the desired position is not the case since there are several instances of credit card fraud among other losses incurred in online transactions because of the lee ways in the payment systems.
In this paper there is section that includes data collected by the other primary sources about electronic payment systems. A few issues crop up as relates to this section of the article.
The research carried out is relevant to the article that is written by the author. Data used here relates to sales realized online and there relationship with payment systems which of course is relevant. The information collected on the factors that discourage the use of e-payment systems is also relevant since we can then know impediments to the growth. Statistics on e banking are also relevant.
Summary and Conclusion
In conclusion, the author has done a tremendous job in convincing about how the growth of online payment systems has led to the growth in the payment systems. Just but for the few issues rose in terms of poor spelling, issues with poor structure of sentences and a bit of subjectivity, the article seems relevant and apt. E-payment systems are very crucial in ensuring success is achieved in electronic commerce.
It is critical that user related issues be taken into account. It is important to have an efficient easy to use yet reliable system in place (Stanford-Smith& Chiozza 354). I can therefore state that from the article, growth of online payment systems are largely dependent upon the growth of electronic commerce.
Works Cited
Gangopadhyay, Aryya. Managing business with electronic commerce: issues and trends. London: idea Group, 2002. Print.
Bauknecht Kurt, Madria Sanjay, & Pernul Günther. Electronic commerce and Web technologies. Zurich: university of Zurich, 1998. Print.
Hedborv Lars. Small Business Projects/Internet. Indiana: Authorhouse, 2005. Print.
Abrazhevich Dennis. Electronic payment systems: a user-centered perspective and interaction design. Eindhoven Technicshe Universiteit, 2004. Print.
Stanford-Smith Brian & Chiozza Enrica. E-work and E-commerce: novel solutions and practices for a global networked economy, Volume 1. Amsterderm: IOS Publishers, 2001. Print.