Clarifying communication

The Internet, since its commercialisation, has expanded with tremendous rapidity. This development has been still further assisted by the creation of the World Wide Web, which has caught the imagination of users around the world. As the marketing and provision of goods and services over the Web continues to grow, the missing factor appears to be a well‐accepted and well‐trusted method of paying for these products and services. This paper discusses the problem of internet payment systems (IPS) and reports the results of a research project which attempts to identify and classify effectiveness criteria for IPS. The project was undertaken by means of a Delphi survey of experts in IPS usage and classified types of IPS providers, as well as the factors which each group considers most important. This information was used in the development of our set of IPS effectiveness criteria.