- Internet users wary of making credit
card purchases over the World Wide Web are being given the option of charging
services to their phone bills.
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- A new scheme launched by Cable &
Wireless Communications and the American company eCharge on Monday allows
users to pay for goods and services through premium-rate phone calls.
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- Consumers fear fraud
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- A survey carried out on behalf of the
consumer organisation Which? last week suggested that one in three people
believes it is easy for anyone to get hold of personal details such as
credit card information once they are submitted over the Internet.
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- Encryption software makes the Net more
secure than other ways of using credit cards, but consumer fears are hard
to dispel.
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- The new service gets round this and would
initially help Websites carry out small transactions such as charging for
reading newspaper articles or downloading music tracks.
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- How it works
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- When a visitor with a dial-up Internet
connection is on a site using eCharge, they can make a purchase by simply
clicking on an icon.
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- This disconnects the existing call to
the Internet Service Provider and immediately dials the eCharge servers
on a premium-rate number.
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- There may be visual warnings of the length
or cost of the call for the duration of the purchase before the line is
dropped again and the original ISP number redialled.
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-
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- The eCharge software will mute the modem
speaker so the process of hanging up and reconnecting seems seamless, but
C&W admit there will be a lag time while this takes place.
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- Bigger purchases possible
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- The charges will show up on the quarterly
phone bill and eventually, the method can be used to pay for more substantial
items such as CDs and books, effectively giving the buyer up to three month's
interest-free credit.
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- But this would depend on the regulator
- the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone
Information Services (ICSSTIS).
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- C&W says it has the widest range
of premium-rate tariffs, ranging from 25p a minute to £1.50 a minute.
But new rates to pay for single items over a £1 have to get the approval
of the regulator.
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- Experienced users may resist temptation
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- eCharge taking over as ISP for a transaction
may annoy services such as AOL and Compuserve who can make money from the
time a user is online with them. But C&W says the service is aimed
more at ISPs who do not charge by the minute or hour and could actually
be used by those ISPs wishing to charge for access to any value-added services.
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- Perhaps the biggest obstacle to the take
up of the service is the ingrained expectations of Net users that services
should be provided for free or can be found without charge elsewhere.
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- The eCharge service will be on trial
in November and December ahead of a full launch in the New Year.
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- C&W says it is creating a new market
in bringing together the ISP and premium rate industry. The latter is currently
worth around £200m a year.
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- Relevant Stories
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- *C&W shakes off Asia to attack Europe
(11 Nov 98Ý|ÝThe Company File) *BT clicks into Net access
(01 Oct 98Ý|ÝSci/Tech) *WorldCom-MCI merger gets go-ahead
(15 Sep 98Ý|ÝThe Company File)
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- Internet Links
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- *eCharge *Cable & Wireless Communications
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