What’s E-Commerce Take?

Why e-commerce?

• Consumer benefits 
• More competition drives down prices 
• Wider selection 
• Convenience (less travel) 
• Business benefits 
• New market opportunities (global reach) 
• Increased transaction efficiency (faster, more automated) 
• Government benefits 
• Happier consumers and businesses 
• More trade means more (income tax) revenue

E-commerce prerequisites

1. Wired buyers & sellers

2. E-payment systems

3. Legal bases

4. Delivery mechanisms

1. Wired buyers & sellers

• Low-cost telecommunications services 
• Greater access to computers 
• Easy access to domain names 
• Multilanguage standards make it easier for e-commerce in local language

2. E-payment systems

• E-payment mechanisms 
• Electronic funds transfer  
• Wider adoption of credit cards 
• Local “payment mechanism middlemen” 
• Taxation benefits? 
• Buyers’ confidence in the system 
• Cybersecurity 
• Privacy 
• Encryption

3. Legal bases

• Define online “signature” as equivalent to an offline one 
• Recognise electronic documents as valid in legal proceedings 
• Carriers’ liability exemption 
• UNCITRAL model 
• Public Key Infrastructure 

4. Delivery mechanisms

• Delivery of goods or services 
• Online: minimal or no content control 
• Offline: reliable parcel delivery

 E-commerce is hard!

• Many prerequisites 
• Productivity driver 
• E-government is in many ways just a subset of e-commerce 
• Many other complications, e.g. 
• Jurisdiction 
• IPR 
• Dispute resolution

Conclusions

• Change is unavoidable  
• Most e-commerce prerequisites follow from making the right domestic policy decisions 
• Get policy right 
• Telecom/internet build-out follows 
• Avoid undue restrictions on internet 
• Content control 
• Voice revenue support understandable but harmful 
• Government can lead by implementing e-gov 
• Develops the market 
• Leads to better government