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APACS
is releasing ecommerce figures for 2005, which reveal
an increase in online spending at auction sites.
The figures show that 14 per cent of the 34 million
shoppers who use the internet made their most recent
purchase from an auction site in 2005. There were
79 million transactions over this period, with £2.8
billion spent.
In the wider market, 25 million adults made an online
purchase, showing an increase of 11 per cent of internet
users over 2004.“In 2005, for the first time,
more than half of all adults made an online purchase,
which demonstrates the increasingly important role
the internet is playing in the lives of UK consumers,”
says Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS.
In addition to the increase in the number of adults
spending online, the number of purchases being made
is growing. The average number of purchases made by
online shoppers in the year rose from 13.6 in 2004
to 18.5 in 2005.
This was reflected in total online card spending figures,
which were up from
262 million transactions in 2004 to 310 million in
2005. The value of these transactions increased from
£16 billion in 2004 to £22 billion last
year.
“The internet is now very much part of mainstream
culture in the UK, and for many people it is the first
port of call when looking for certain items to buy,”
says Quinn.
On the High Street credit cards represent just six
per cent of payments. However, they are used far more
regularly to purchase goods online, making up 49 per
cent of all payments. About 13 per cent of all personal
credit card card spending is made online.
According to Quinn, people should remain vigilant
to the threat of online fraud. “Consumers should
only ever buy online from a computer with up-to-date
virus protection, and only shop at secure websites,”
she says.
Payment security is also a major concern for Visa,
which is introducing its Verified by Visa secure payment
service to mobile phones.Verified by Visa is a password
protected system that authenticates the cardholder’s
identity when making a payment with their Visa card.
European cardholders can complete the entire buying
process – from product selection to payment
on their mobile phones – using Verified by Visa
to secure the transaction.
Ecommerce and cross border acquiring is particularly
vulnerable to merchant fraud. With this in mind, Visa
Europe is also launching the Visa Merchant Alert Service
(VMAS), a pan-European enquiry service providing acquirers
with a central database of merchants whose contracts
have been terminated by other banks due to fraudulent
or questionable activity.
“VMAS offers a more secure level of service,
and protection for all parties to card and electronic
payments transactions – acquirers, merchants
and cardholders – by assisting in maintaining
the integrity of the payment system and the Visa brand,”
says Robert Littas, Visa Europe’s head of fraud
management. such initiatives should help keep the
ecommerce market secure as it continues to develop.
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