What is internet banking? – Have your say questions

• How do you think people will bank in the future? I think that online banking will used by more people in the future and if most people bank online then local branches will not be needed. Perhaps online banking will be the only way to transfer funds, or the number of local branches will diminsh and new departments and offices will be formed to enhance the online banking experience.
• What differences has technology made in the way we bank and buy things? Technology has made banking and buying more convenient by the advancement of using the internet. We no longer have to go to a store to bank or buy. Although there are new risks involved, when using the internet there is a risk of scams etc.
• How has banking changed in the last 20 years? Banking has become more convenient and transactions are faster. The development of the internet is the greatest advancement for banks as comsumers can control their bank accounts over the internet.
• What, is any, are the bad things about banking and technology. The bad things about banking and technology are security issues. There are many risks surrounding money transfer over the internet.
• What do you think about these changes? I think these changes are convenient however it is important that we as a society do not become too dependant on technology to make tasks easier.

For and Against – Have your say questions

• How does it affect banking jobs? If more people are using the internet for banking then staff will not be needed at the bank. If local bank branches are no longer needed, then all the staff will lose their jobs. However, internet banking opens a new range of jobs such as people who work on the security of the site. Nevertheless, jobs will be lost as it takes more workers to work in all the local braches than it does to run the website.   
• What are some of the arguments against online banking?
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    • You need your own computer to bank online.
    • You still have to deposit at the bank
    • A lot of bank staff will lose jobs
    • People do not trust the security
    • Someone could get into your account and steal the money.
• What about security, do you trust it? I do trust the security of bank websites, but I do believe it is equally the consumer’s responsibility to spot scams and keep themselves safe by regularly changing passwords etc.
• Is it cheaper or more convenient than other banking? Yes.
• Are you for or against online banking? I am for online banking but I do not think it should be the only method of banking.

Student Learning Checklist

There are many problems associated with transferring funds online including the risk of:

-          Scams

-          Hoax emails

-          hacking

-          Identity theft

Companies such as the Commonwealth Bank have security features to help customers avoid these risks, but some responsibility does lie in the consumer to ensure problems do not affect them. Before transferring funds online, there are precautions I would take as a consumer.

The following precautions are a selection of security tips from the Commonwealth Bank website:

·     Always check your statements and report any unauthorised transactions to the Bank

·     Notify the Bank as soon as possible when you change your address

·     Memorise your PIN (Personal Identification Number) do not keep it with your card.

·     Do not disclose your PIN/Password or confidential details to any person.

·     Regularly change your passwords. (6 characters or more)

Also to consider:

-          Customer authentication: make sure the parties to a transaction are who they claim to be.

-          Customer authorisation and privacy: verify whether each party has the authority to perform the actions.

Online banking is no more risky than banking at banks or over the phone, as long as you take the time to protect yourself.

In protecting yourself online, there are many things you need to consider. Listed below are ways in which you can avoid scams and fraud:

·     Type in the Web site’s address independently, and not to follow links sent in e-mails, which can be spam and lead to harmful sites. If you click on a link run by criminals but disguised as a legitimate site, credit card number and other personal information will be at risk.

·      Never use a debit card because information can be intercepted and charges are taken directly from your account. This makes it take longer to get your money back than if the money was stolen off a credit card.

·     Have a separate credit card solely for online purchase use, to keep online purchases separate so it is easier to monitor fraudulent activity.

·     Set up a separate email account to use when registering on online sites, have a separate password for this account so if hackers steal your username and password they can’t use the information to hack your other emails and get passwords for other accounts.

                     Security features of different web browsers

-          Look to see if the browser’s address goes turn green it means the site you’ve visited has passes background checks to verify its legitimacy and is paid for.

-          Look for the Extended Validation Secure Sockets layer certificate which indicates the site securely sending your data and is using proper encryption methods.

-          If there is no such certificate, look for the SSL padlock which identifies the site’s owner and agency that issued it. Although, padlocks are not always reliable as scammers can replicate them.

Ebay is an online site to purchase items from all over the world. It is fast, effective and has a huge range of products for sale. Whether your after a book or a bike, a US Navy flighter jet or James Blunt’s sister, Ebay has it all. It is an easy way of making money, or buying items. Ebay is a place for browsing, buying, selling and even relationships – people have married after meeting each other on Ebay. You can pay for your items from your PayPal account or through credit cards. Ebay has revolutionised the online shopping experience, it is a convenient and effective way to purchase items.

The ability to accept a form of electronic payment in e-commerce is eessential. This form of electronic payment is referred to as financual electronic data interchange (FEDI).

Ways of paying for online purchases

There are many ways in which you can pay for goods online, including:

• Credit Cards and Smart Cards: By entering your credit card number, you can buy products over the internet and the cost will appear on your credit card bill. A Smartcard is similar to a credit card; however it contains an embedded 8-bit microprocessor and uses electronic cash which transfers from the consumers’ card to the sellers’ device
• Financial Cyber-mendiaries: These are companies that enable financial transactions to transpire over the internet e.g PayPal. Paypal is an online service that allows consumers and/or businesses to send money to anyone with an email address in 45 countries. Mediaries allow consumers to transfer funds into their online accounts from a traditional bank account, and vice versa, after the comsumers identity and authority to bank accounts has been verified. 
• Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment: allows consumers to view and pay bills electronically. EBPP systems send bills from service providers to individual consumers via the internet. This is used for things such as phone services, water bills.

Online retailers and their ways of online purchases

• Ebay: PayPal or cash payment on pick-up.
• Officeworks: Officeworks BusinessDirect 30-day account, Coles Group Source MasterCard, all credit cards. Officeworks Acoount.
• Coles online: Online Credit card payment (Coles Myer Card®, Coles Myer Source™ MasterCard, MasterCard, Visa, Diners, American Express), Mobile EFTPOS, Customer Account.

1. If you are under 18, what are the barriers to shopping online? If your under 18, you can purchase online with a parent or guardian.
2. When buying products from overseas how do you know how much they cost in $A? By converting the money to Australian dollars, this can be done by a currency converter such as http://www.commbank.com.au/Today/ForeignExchange/TBC-Fxcalc.htm
3. Is there an accurate way to calculate the cost in $A? Explain. No, because currency changes.

1. A kindle is a wireless reading device used for reading electronic books. It was launched by Amazon.com in Nov 2007. It uses an electronic paper display and downloads content over Amazon Whispernet, which is accessible though Kindle without any fee. The Kindle can be used stand alone without a computer. Downloading does not require a computer and takes less than a minute to download a full length book.

2. Kindles could revolutionise the book business. It enables consumers to download books to their Kindle on the go. This could change many aspects of the book business, as you no longer need to visit stores to purchase books. Paper copies of books will no longer be needed, instead content can be digitally transferred and stored on a Kindle.

3. E-commerce is especially suited to this product as all purchases on a Kindle use e-commerce. It has revolutionised books and other written forms into a digital format, so these products can now be purchased fast and effieciently via the electronic transactions that is e-commerce.  

4. Amazon.com

(a) ease of navigation: this website is easy to navigate, it provides clear links and is easy to use.

(b) layout of the home page:  in my opinion the home page is overcrowded with advertisements, however the task panel on the left hand side if clearly visable so I don’t think the advertisements were a defect.

(c) methods of payment: the methods of payment do seem convenient and safe.

(d) ease of product selection: product selection is easy, once you have searched your item all relevant information is listed e.g condition, price.

(e) return and refund policy: You may return most new, unopened items sold and fulfilled by Amazon.com within 30 days of delivery for a full refund; this is good considering consumers have not seen what they have purchased in person.

(f) delivery charges and options: delivery charges and shipping rates to Australia were found easily on the site, provided is a table which shows the shipping rates for different items with all relevant information included.