With the rapid growth of the Internet came online businesses. But while these businesses had great potential, one downside was credit card fraud. When you make a purchase in person, the cashier can turn over the credit card to check for your signature and verify that against your id as well as check the photo on the id to verify it is actually your credit card. However, that is not possible with an online transaction.
To protect themselves from fake credit card transactions, merchants can use secure electronic transactions (SET). These secure electronic payment transactions make financial transactions on the Internet more secure than ever.
How do these electronic payment systems work? Secure electronic payment transactions use digital certificates and digital signatures to cut down on the misuse of credit cards when making online purchases. A consumer is given an “electronic wallet,” which is in essence a digital certificate. This digital certificate contains your name, serial number, expiration dates, your public key (used to encrypt messages and digital signatures to keep others from stealing them), and your digital signature. It is basically an electronic credit card that is safer than giving out your credit card information online.
The customer must be using a browser, such as Internet Explorer, that can transmit secure electronic payment transactions. After opening a credit card account with a bank, the customer receives their digital certificate. The merchants also have digital certificates from the bank that include both the bank and merchant’s public key. The customer can then place an order through a web page. The browser they are using receives and confirms the merchant’s certificate. Once the browser knows it is truly that merchant, it sends the order information. The merchant checks the digital signature to confirm it is the customer, and then sends the order message to the bank. The bank verifies it and sends authorization to the merchant to fill the order.
This form of electronic payment systems makes transactions secure as well as easy for both the consumer and merchant. Visit Secure Electronic Payment Transactions to learn more. | 
