Progress Report of Research Paper on Credit Card Payments
The aim of this online credit card payment systems in modern times study is to review challenges of credit cards as a means of payments in online shopping. This study appreciates the overall online websites as well as shopper’s perceptions that drive the use of credit cards as an electronic payment method that is secure, can be trusted, convenient, cost effective and anonymous just like traditional methods of payment. This paper is a progress report that details the main activities and findings that were made in the literature review chapter of the study as well as detailing the activities that will be carried in the next steps so as to complete this study.
Online credit card payment systems for online shopping have been described as often being a tradeoff between anonymity, traceability, convenience, control, security and cost. Thus, this study sought to investigate the relationship which exists between credit card as a means of payment and sales volume. As such, the literature review chapter addressed five main areas that included credit cards as a payment method in online shopping and its characteristics relative to traditional payment methods, participants in e-commerce credit card payment systems together with their concerns and interests with particular reference to consumers, why consumers will choose to adopt online credit cards as a payment systems in e-commerce activities, critical success factors that must be implemented to guarantee use of credit card as a means of payments and, finally, the identification of research gaps that this study will be filling. In being specific during the study, the literature review concentrated on online payments that are carried out in business-to-consumer transactions rather than on business-to-business payments. This is because it was identified that the expectations of the pioneers of credit card payment systems had high expectations of consumer uptake of credit cards but this has since been noted to be lower, yet e-commerce transactions continue to remain relatively high with the potential to grow further. This necessitated the need to examine what challenges credit cards face as a means of payment
While conducting the literature survey, this study considered journal articles, conference proceedings, textbooks and websites for review so as to develop a deep understanding of the topic. The survey indicated that credit card payment system is a means of transferring economic value between sellers and customers. This has the implications that any challenge that needs to be addressed when consumers are using credit cards as a means of payment needs to protect consumers and sellers under the existing regulations and laws and also within the technological capability of the payment systems providers to verify and authenticate the details which are primarily credit card numbers used to transfer the value between the parties involved in the transactions. Despite the technological advancement, it was also noted that identity theft remains a daunting challenge that must be addressed fully by the sellers and the service providers so that consumers are reinforced on how they use credit cards without fear. Addressing the security concerns of the consumer plays a significant role in positively assisting the consumers to address their concerns of security. In essence, this can be done through psychological means aimed at enhancing the perceptions of the consumers through features in e-commerce website that will be aimed at giving the consumers an assurance that their details will not be misused or misplaced.
The next steps in this study are conducting a qualitative and a quantitative study through primary data collection methods such as written and oral interviews and surveys and analysis of the primary data. The surveys will be conducted through online and offline where respondents will be profiled based on demographic features and origin so as to understand further credit card payment systems. The interviewees will be selected from different parts of the world with the help of major online websites. The data will then be analyzed through statistical methods and classification so that meaningful discussions can be done.
