Table V.2. Electronic commerce: features of main instruments

Instruments Elements of commercial transaction Technical features Ease of access
  Elements which can be conducted One-step versus multi-step transaction a Type of data transmitted Interactive potential Communication potential Cost for consumers Start-up costs for producers Bandwidth problems User-friendly
Start-up costs Operating costs
Standard telephone Production, advertising, purchasing, payment distribution Multi-stepb Voicec Yes One to oned Low (phone + connection charge) Depends on phone charges Low (phone + connection charge) No issue Yes
Facsimile Advertising, purchasing, payment distribution Multi-step Data/text, image No One to onee Moderate (fax + connection charge) Depends on phone charges Moderate (fax + connection charge) No issue Yes
Television Advertising, consumption Multi-step Voice, image No One to many Moderate Low High (studio, equipment) No issue Yes
ATM, credit/debit cards, smart cards Payments Multi-step Data/text No One to one Low (card) Low (free or small fee) Moderate to high (ATM machine, agio) No issue Yes
Electronic data interchangef Advertising, purchasing, payments Multi-step Data/text Nog One to one

One to many

High (equipment + various connection costs) Depends on line charges High (equipment +connection costs) Potential bottlenecks in combining with Internet No
Internet and on-line services Production, advertising, purchasing, payments,h distribution One-step or multi-step Data/text, image, voice ( = multi media) Yes One to one

One to many

Many to many

Moderate (personal computer, modem, possible connection charge) Depends on line and service charges Significant one-off costs for Web site (but typically lower than "real"shop)i Potential bottlenecks Not yet always

a Multi-step implies that advertising, purchase, payment and distribution are not possible in one step.
b Some one-step transactions are possible, for example, in telephone banking.
c Telephone video conference allows image transmission.
d Telephone conferences and telephone video conferences allow communication from one to many people.
e Can also be one to many, for example, via fax mailing lists.
fTraditional EDI with own "hub and spoke" network.
g Some automatic quasi-interactive transactions possible.
h Mostly in combination with credit cards.
i Technology integration, for example, with existing payment systems in banking can be costly too.

Table V.4. International bodies contributing to the development of electronic commerce

(a) Names and Web sites

Acronym Name of organization Web site address
International bodies
BIS Bank for International Settlements http://www.bis.org
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission http://www.iec.ch
ILO International Labour Organization http://www.ilo.org
ISO International Organization for Standardization http://www.iso.ch
ITC International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO http://www.intracen.org
ITU International Telecommunication Union http://www.itu.org
UN/CEFACT United Nations Centre for Facilitation of Procedures and Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport http://www.unicc.org/unece/cefact/intro/intro.htm
UNCITRAL United Nations Commission on International Trade Law http://www.un.or.at/uncitral/
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development http://www.unctad.org
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization http://www.unesco.org
UPU Universal Postal Union http://postinfo.upu.org
World Bank http://www.worldbank.org
WCO World Customs Organization http://www.wcoomd.org
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization http://www.wipo.org
WTO World Trade Organization http://www.wto.org
Regional bodies
APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation http://apecsun.apecsec.org.sg
AFACT Asia Council for the Facilitation of Procedures and Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport http://aseb.keb.or.kr
Council of Europe http://www.coe.fr
EFTA European Free Trade Association http://www.efta.int
ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific http://www.unescap.org
EU European Union http://europa.eu.int
FTAA Free Trade Areas of the Americas http://www.ftaa-alca.org

(b) Areas of work and technical assiatance related to electronic commerce

SME assistance Trade facilitation Global participation Standards Year 2000 Electronic payments Interoperable/secure infrastructure Law Intellectual property Privacy Economic/

social impact

Skill development
International bodies                  
IEC

- - - Joint technical committee with ISO - - With ISO - - - - -
ILO

- - -

-

- - - - Intergovernment committee monitoring Code of practice Conditions of work Impact of ICT on skills
ISO

- - - EC standards ISO 8601

-

Standards; electronic signatures - - Standard on privacy - -
ITC - Best practices - - - - - - - - - -
ITU

Technical assistance Technical assistance Pilot projects; Technical assistance Standards for multimedia Year 2000 task force EC applications Communication security Regulatory study

-

Standard on privacy Current use Training on EC competency
UN/CEFACT

-

ISO standards harmonization Regional projects UN/EDIFACT promotion Update of standard

-

UN/EDIFACT Contract- based model - - - -
UNCITRAL
- - - - - Legal guide Working group on EC Model law - - - -
UNCTAD



Trade point applications Trade point access to ICT/telecom. Getup initiative to assist developing countries Software solutions to promote standards - - Seal protocol EC legal considerations Cooperation with WTO/WIPO

-

Benefits of EC Train for trade assistance programme
UPU



- - EDI fund transfers EDI standards data encryption Compatibility

-

Global framework on data security; digital signatures - - - Market intelligence reports Skill improvement programmes
World Bank
Technical assistance/

seminars on applications and tool kits

Best practices Assistance for reform and best practices - Y2K initiative grants - - Regulatory study with ITU Technical seminars - Assistance to liberalize Funding for capacity building and access centres
WCO


- Harmonization; simplification; express clearance - - - Procedures on internet goods - - Technical manual -

-

Customs modernization
WIPO

-

-

Technical assistance - -

-

- Online dispute resolution TRIPS/ Working Party - Issues study on impact -
WTO


- GATTS to remove tariffs ICT/EC Trade and development center - - GATS on electronic trade - - - - Special study on economic importance -
Regional bodies            
APEC


Seminars on EDI; internet pilot project EDI-transport technical assistance EC task force - - - Public key authentication - - - Study of implications Human Resource Development working group
CoE


- - - European standards; network interconnections - -

-

- - Convention guidelines on privacy Resolution on impact

-

EFTA


- - Technical assistance EC initiatives - Action plan on selling financial services Standards for electronic signature Action plan Integrated EC directive - -

-

ESCAP

-

Assistance on best practices; TISNET ECIE Training modules Awareness initiative Financial EDI guidelines Awareness initiative Awareness initiative Awareness initiative - - Capacity building; TRAFIX
EU

-

-

Global standards conference; global invention Focus initiative - Common framework for electronic signatures Directives action plan for government procurement Directive on copyrights Directive on privacy - - -

Source: The information in this table was compiled from the work done by the OECD secretariat for the OECD Ministerial Conference, A Borderless World: Realizing the Potential for Global Electronic Commerce, Ottawa, October 1998.

Note: This work may or may not have been approved by the membership of these organizations. The inclusion of the work of the international and regional bodies does not imply the endorsement of such work either by the ESCAP secretariat of by its members and associate members. EC = electronic commerce.