SSL is similar to SET in that the customer must send account details, albeit encrypted, over the Internet, although SSL has no lengthy registration procedure -- it simply requires the user to possess a credit card, prepaid card or similar method of payment.
Current finance ministry regulations require a three-way relationship between consu-mers, banks and a Certification Authority Center. All customers need to apply at their branch to use any Internet services a bank offers. The branch notifies the company's headquarters and the center on a dedicated line, which is more difficult to eavesdrop electronically.
US companies VeryTrust and Entrust SET provide Taiwan's major payment gateways -- Acer Group's HiTrust, GCNet and SeedNet.
HiTrust will shortly announce the launch of its business-to-business e-commerce pilot to add to existing business-to-customer e-commerce services, spokeswoman Cindy Wang said.
"We'll soon be launching a B2B complement to our B2C services on our Cybercity home site. I expect many banks will soon be doing the same in the near future," she said.
Fraud alert
Despite a widespread fear of hightech on-line snooping of credit card numbers, simple fraud is by far the most common form of e-commerce crime. The common problem of non-delivery of goods after payment -- in a recent survey up to 40 percent of users said they had been swindled at least once -- is expected to strengthen brand loyalty among consumers.
This may allow current incumbents to leverage their existing brand profile and force new entrants to build their brands in record time.
A top AcerNet executive said the firm's AcerMall B2C site traded heavily on the reputation of Acer Group's computer manufacturing operations.
"Even though we've got nothing to do with the PC side of the group, the brand name recognition gives us a big advantage, especially when you consider the large number of unknown new companies entering the e-commerce market," he said.
The advance of Internet banking has been accompanied by the rapid development of alternative forms of electronic payment. Visa recently launched a smartcard, which contains an electronic chip capable of storing thousands of characters. The card acts as a store card, credit card, debit card and stored value card rolled into one. It is being used by a number of department stores and customers will soon be able to use it as a telephone card and travel ticket.
The smartcard's debut on Taipei's underground is slated for the eve of the arrival of Microsoft mogul Bill Gates in Taiwan this year. Gates is due to attend an international telecommunications forum in Taipei in June.
The Visa smartcard's stored value function is more readily acceptable to Taiwanese consumers than credit, industry experts say. Its range of features may give it the edge on previous competitors which have only possessed a few of these capabilities, although MasterCard Taiwan Manager, Tian Chiang, says Mastercard's Mondex stored value card pilot, begun in November, has sharpened the company's competitive edge.
"The Mondex pilot is delivering fantastic results. We have never been in a better position as we enter the new millennium," she said.
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