Pros of online payment systems

Online payments have been around for some time but the acceptance of it has increase dramatically over the years. But just like with anything it has its pro’s and cons.  You can pay just about any bill online from daycare expenses to even your hair styles. Banks offer their online bill payment services free to their customers. And let’s face it… Who doesn’t like something for free?   Think about it for a second when was the last time you mailed in a payment or dropped your payment off? I’m willing to bet it has been months and maybe years for some of you. What do you think the reason is for the raise in the use of online payments? In fact because of the use of online payments the US Postal service has had to close down serial post offices. Do you think the US Postal service could have been more proactive and should have foreseen how this would affect their business?    Do you think the cost of postage has anything to do with it people turning away from the postal service? Now back to the pros and con’s of the wonderful world of online payments.  We will cover the pros of online payments first. Make sure you check back to hear the cons of online payments.  

Pros:

Time Management- I don’t know about you but I’m a busy mom! All my bills are on auto draft so I don’t have to worry about it. Less time paying bills and more time with my family! It takes just seconds! No more written out checks and buying envelopes.

Convenience- You can just log on and pay anytime, day or night. We all are busy with all the things that life throws at us. It just takes seconds to set up your payment and after that you can have your payment scheduled to be paid every month.

Saves Money & Gas- with the price of postage on the raise! Why pay for a stamp when you can pay online for free Using an online bill payment service eliminates the need to pay for postage, and envelopes.

Avoid Late Fees- you don’t have to run to mail box to insure that your payment gets to where it is going in time. Now you can just set up auto draft or simply login and pay the day that your bill is due. You can set up online reminder services so you will never miss a payment again.

Less Paper- gone is the days of paper checks and receiving your bills in the mail. Now that the US is going green many companies will encourage customers to go paperless and encourage you to pay your bill online.

Security- Most people feel more comfortable paying via online payments with their bank vs. putting a check in the mail. Your bank’s online payment service is more secure then placing your check in the mail and hoping that it makes it there. The money is taking right from your account and reflects in your account as soon as you make the transaction.

Make sure you check back and please post to our blog!!!  We want to hear your thoughts J

Source(s):

Laudon, Kenneth C. and Jane P. (2012) Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm. (Twelfth Edition)

 

Online Payment Systems Blog Introduction

Introduction to Management Information Systems

Online Payment Systems (OPS) are changing the way businesses make decisions. Today, consumers can simply log on to their favorite retailer site and pay for any product through their preferred payment systems. Throughout our blog posts, we’ll show the different types of Online Payment Systems in detail including systems like PayPal, Google Checkout, and Amazon Payments to name a few. These services can make shopping a very fast and pleasant experience. However, like all things, there seems to be many pros and cons of OPS. We’ll also discuss how businesses are reacting to the various forms of Online Payment Systems, finding new ways to compete. Many of our readers may not be taking advantage of these systems and we’ll go over how they can benefit in their daily life.

Throughout our posts, you’ll learn about Online Payment Systems. However, we’ll also show that there are pros and cons to this process, letting you judge whether or not you can benefit from this service.

Pros:

• Time Management - How can Online Payment Systems affect your daily schedule and possibly free up more of your time to do other things?

• Convenience - What’s easier, getting in your car and driving to a store, or simply logging on?

• Late Fees - Are there fees avoided by not having to deal with the hassle of remembering to go back to stores too late, incurring fees?

• Less Paper - Is it possibly better for the environment when you shop online?

• Security - Is it safer to log on to a website, avoiding a potentially dangerous world?

Cons:

• Online security - Identity theft is a huge topic in today’s world. Is there a danger in using online payment systems?

• Missed errors - Nothing is more frustrating than buying goods and waiting for a few days, just to find that there was an error in the order placement process, causing the order to be incorrect.

• Fees - Some online websites and payment systems charge convenience fees. Are they worth it?

We will also be discussion how OPS affect businesses. Online payment systems can affect day-to-day business in one of two ways: They can either simplify the purchasing process, or, they can cause it to become more costly and complicated. Services like PayPal, while very convenient, charge its clients a percentage of every payment that is received, which can become costly overtime. In future posts, we’ll go over in detail how Online Payment Systems can affect the day to day business activity.

An efficient online payments system is vitally important for the smooth functioning of the complex U.S. economy because of the increasing number of consumers who conduct business via the Internet. Consumers currently rely heavily on online payment systems daily for a multitude of transactions. These transactions include travel arrangements, shopping, filing and paying taxes, paying bills, banking transactions, and investing online. Consumers also utilize online payment systems that facilitate person-to-person payments, such as PayPal. As the widespread use of online payment systems continues, they will continue to evolve to meet the needs and expectations of consumers. Check back with us to learn more about how these systems affect the day to day life of people in our world.

Online Payment Systems are gaining momentum with each day that passes. Check back with us and learn through our blog posts if these systems are right for you and your future business endeavors!

Sources:

Tamayo, Xavier, Jimenez, Luis and Flynn, Shawn P. (July 13, 2005) Trends in Consumer Payment Systems. Electronic Substitution for Mail: Models and Result, 8. Retrieved from: http://www.phoenixhecht.com/treasuryresources/PDF/PitneyBowes_trends%20in%20consumer%20payments.pdf

Laudon, Kenneth C. and Jane P. (2012) Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm. (Twelfth Edition)