Cyberwallet
A cyber wallet (alternative names : e-wallet or digital wallet ) enables users to store credit on electronic platforms and use them for payments for goods and services on the Internet. Users of an e-wallet receive a credit on an account (corresponds to filling up a virtual "wallet") by paying in using the payment method preferred by them, which is dependent on the methods enabled by the provider. Credit card payments are the most common , but transfers or direct debit are also possible. In the European Union , the operators of such platforms are regulated as e-money institutions .
The cyberwallet must be distinguished from an electronic wallet that is tied to a material carrier (payment card). Payment application software linked to mobile phones is also often referred to as a “wallet”, see for example Apple Wallet .
etymology
The term is made up of the ancient Greek prefix cyber (actually "tax man") in the sense of the made-up word for self-regulating control mechanisms (cf. also cybernetics ), later transferred to the Internet , and English wallet for "wallet".
application
The money that is then in the user's “e-wallet” can be used for purchases in various online shops or portals . This payment method is most common at online casinos, online betting shops, game portals or, among other things, when reading articles for a fee from magazines or at the eBay auction platform , since the amounts involved are small. Often you pay in a special currency of the respective e-wallet provider. Using credit cards in cases with a small sum of money is not economical, so e-wallets enable merchants to make cheaper transactions. E-wallet users are often offered same-day payments and transfers without having to set up direct bank details .
safety
Most providers work with 128-bit SSL -encrypted transmissions. Since the virtual wallet has been “loaded” with money, it is no longer necessary to enter the details of the credit card, for example. This means that the risk of abuse is lower than with a direct credit card payment, because the user can only immediately lose the sum that is in his cyber wallet.
However, since personal data such as shipping and billing address as well as credit card data are still stored in a database of the provider outside of the cyberwallet, the user is not spared the residual risk of misuse even with this procedure.
Established providers
In addition to the world market leader PayPal , the cyberwallets Skrill and Neteller, which have been part of the Paysafe Group since 2015, and FidorPay from Fidor Bank are active on the German market . Masterpass was active in Germany from 2015 to 2019.
Twint has so far been able to establish itself in Switzerland .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ René Hesse: Mastercard closes Masterpass in Germany. In: mobiflip.de. October 4, 2019, accessed October 30, 2019 .