Electronic commerce in Malaysia : an analysis of electronic payment system and encryption technology

Abstract

Electronic commerce involves the exchange of goods and services for some form of money in the virtual world without the involvement of any physical presence. Although the growth of electronic commerce in Malaysia is still considered at the infancy stage, its potential should not be discounted particularly with the widespread utilisation of the Internet in the nineties. In tandem with this scenario, the Malaysian Government has made a gigantic move by launching the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) whereby one of its seven flagship applications includes the active promotion of the electronic business activities in the country. Nevertheless after almost 10 years from its inception, the acceptance level of the electronic commerce by the Malaysian consumers is still regarded very low compared to the other parts of the world especially the developed countries like the United States and the European Union. Apparently, the main culprit to the growth of electronic commerce in this country relates to the security of the electronic payment system. In relation thereof, the main objective of this study is to critically analyse the various types of electronic payment systems, the security issues and other related problems associated with the electronic payment systems. Further, some discussion would be devoted on the encryption technology as the technical solution to the security concern of the electronic payment system.