COMMERCE CORRAL.OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, BRADESCO BRADESCO Banco Brasileiro de Descontos SA (Brazilian bank) , BRAZIL'S LARGEST bank, has convinced more than 600,000 customers to manage their accounts over the Internet. Evolution was inevitable. "We had already succeeded in replacing all paper, stamps and hassle imposed on our clients with the click of a computer mouse," says Odecio Gregio, Bradesco's manager for technology products. "Why not introduce this huge consumer market to cyberstores?" Thus was born the BradescoNet Electronic Commerce site, an extension of its home-banking page. And make no mistake, the service is most definitely an extension of the Brazilian banking giant. With the largest online banking community in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , the bank dictates who sells, tightly controls the authentication (1) Verifying the integrity of a transmitted message. See message integrity, e-mail authentication and MAC. (2) Verifying the identity of a user logging into a network. process and delivers the products-all for a cut of the action. So far, 170 cyber (1) From "cybernetics," it is a prefix attached to everyday words to add a computer, electronic or online connotation. The term is similar to "virtual," but the latter is used more frequently. See virtual. stores have signed up, 60 of which are open for business. Some 600 more would-be virtual retailers are in various stages of negotiations with the bank. The best-selling best·sell·er also best seller n. A product, such as a book, that is among those sold in the largest numbers. best items are books, flowers and CDs, but Bradesco's e-commerce has a varied selection of stores including sportswear, toys, computers, food and medicines. To deliver the goods Verb 1. deliver the goods - attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show"; "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won" bring home the bacon, succeed, win, come through , Bradesco signed up with Sedex, a local air courier. Like credit card companies, Bradesco charges sellers a fee, but it does not rely on plastic to complete the transaction. Cases of online credit card fraud Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. have spooked many Brazilian consumers, so the bank employed a "digital certificate" to protect them. The certificate identifies buyer and seller and then completes the purchase transaction through the bank, without ever sending the buyer's credit card number or account information over the Internet. While the certificate responds to security concerns, it also keeps Bradesco firmly in the middle of all the transactions. Novice shoppers and vendors must open an account with the bank and, thanks to the certificates, vendors do not gain access to buyers' identities. So far, sales volumes have been slow. Promotional campaigns in newspapers and magazines are under way and Bradesco is trying to convince online sellers to reduce prices to stimulate more interest. Gregio is confident that e-commerce will pick up soon: "Let's talk about money at the end of the year." |
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