Purchasing goods on Internet is safe, experts say<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): People should not be worried about purchasing
\ngoods on the Internet because it is just as safe and convenient
\nas shopping at nearby malls, according to e-commerce experts.<\/p>\n
Visa International's Asia Pacific market development manager
\nfor e-commerce, John Bauer, said here on Wednesday that
\ncustomers, however, should be extra careful in examining terms
\nand conditions of the transactions involved.<\/p>\n
\"Merchants involved in e-commerce will naturally make sure
\nthat all the data obtained from customers, especially credit card
\nand personal information, are properly encrypted to avoid data
\nabuse by mischievous officials or any third parties. Otherwise,
\nthey will lose clients to competitors that can provide better
\nsecurity,\" he told a seminar on e-commerce.<\/p>\n
Bauer said e-commerce customers must also be aware that
\npurchasing goods from overseas merchants would mean that they had
\nto deal with the law and regulations applied in the merchants'
\norigin countries, not theirs.<\/p>\n
Paul Fitzgerald, a legal expert on e-commerce from Singapore-
\nbased law firm Arthur Loke, Bernard, Rada & Lee, said the most
\nlegal cases the company had encountered so far were on
\nintellectual copyright abuse and mischievous hackers.<\/p>\n
\"Legal suits filed by unsatisfied customers or sellers over
\npurchases made on e-commerce are rarely found. The cases are
\nmostly filed by one company against another over alleged abuse of
\nintellectual copyright or illegal access to its data files,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said unsatisfied customers and merchants could still file a
\nlegal suit against each other over alleged trickery or breaches
\nof transaction contracts, despite the fact that cyber law did not
\nexist in many countries.<\/p>\n
Singapore was among the few countries that had already
\nincluded legal settlement on e-commerce business in its
\ntransaction laws, he said.<\/p>\n
Fitzgerald said it would be much better for a country to have
\nregulations providing guidelines, if not control, on the practice
\nof e-commerce in order to assure a just and proper settlement for
\nany problems possibly brought up by any parties.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged, however, that the lack of regulations or
\nlegal assurance on e-commerce practices would not necessarily
\nstop companies from selling on the Internet.<\/p>\n
\"E-commerce has become a trend. Companies will still go into
\ne-business because they simply do not want to be left behind by
\ncompetitors,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The president of local e-commerce service provider PT Secura
\nAgradi, Andy B. Sutedja, agreed with Fitzgerald, saying that more
\ncompanies would turn to e-commerce because it offered great
\nbusiness opportunities and required only a reasonable investment
\nto start.<\/p>\n
\"A company can start its e-commerce business with an overall
\ninvestment of around US$25,000,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said e-commerce would be the preferred business and
\ninvestment tool of the future.<\/p>\n
Many local companies had recently gone online, at least for
\ninternal operations or promotional purposes, he said without
\nmentioning a figure.<\/p>\n
The U.S.-based telecoms and IT research firm, International
\nData Corporation (IDC), projected e-commerce would grow faster
\nthis year in Indonesia, following the country's gradual economic
\nrecovery.<\/p>\n
IDC estimated the number of Internet users in Indonesia who
\nmake purchases through e-commerce would grow from approximately
\n70,000 in 2000 to 600,000 by 2003. (cst)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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