Means of payment for e-commerce in SME's in Peru

Abstract

In a globalized setting, SMEs are driving the demand for digital solutions in their business management, as well as for their insertion into electronic commerce. Due to the limited resources that they may have, it is necessary to conduct a careful study in all stages of development, which include the decision to choose a means or several means of payment for your e-commerce platform. This paper presents a comparative study between three payment methods used in e-commerce: Internet Banking Payment Gateway (IBPG), payment gateways, and cash deposits, which are studied from the perspectives of the functionalities offered and the requirements of technological architecture demanded, the economic aspect and the advantages and limitations. The results show IBPG is the alternative that offers all the functionalities presented in this article, on the other hand, its rates are the highest as well as its technological requirements. Whereas payment gateways do not cover all the functionalities and each one of them presents a different combination between these attributes. Likewise, the cost of its implementation offers a wide range of prices, which vary depending on the level of security, real-time processing, multi-currency payments, anti-fraud control, and data protection. Moreover, its requirements are lower than for IBPG. Finally, the option of cash deposits is presented as a traditional alternative that focuses on real-time processing; and it still concentrates a high percentage in e-commerce payment transactions, whether it be payment gateways and cash payments, the most convenient and economical alternatives to initiate charges for a product or service.