With the continuous development of the global economy, the increasing popularity of the Internet, and the gradual maturity of e-commerce technology, more and more people are choosing to shop online. Online shopping is not restricted by time and space, the travel cost is almost zero, and the price of goods is cheaper than similar goods in general shopping malls. But at the same time, there are certain financial risks in online transactions, such as the buyer cannot receive the goods on time, according to quality and quantity after paying first, and the seller cannot receive the price on time and in full after delivering the goods, resulting in delayed payment, forced discounts or refusal to pay. Therefore, after the launch of Alipay transaction service on Taobao in October 2003, professional online payment platforms such as Tenpay and Baifubao appeared one after another, solving the problem of capital flow in online shopping and promoting the rapid development of e-commerce industries such as online shopping.
These professional online payment platforms belong to third-party payment systems. Traditional payment methods are often simple, immediate, direct payment transfers, and one-step payment, so they are more likely to have the financial risks mentioned above, while third-party payment systems effectively solve these problems.
The characteristics and functions of third-party payment systems include the following points.
(1) A third-party payment platform is an independent institution that provides security for online transactions.
(2) A third-party payment platform not only has the function of transferring funds, but also can constrain and supervise both parties to the transaction.
(3) The payment methods of the third-party payment platform are flexible and diverse. Users can use the Internet, telephone, mobile phone text messages and other methods to pay.
(4) Compared with payment protocols such as SSL and SET (secure electronic transaction), payment operations using third-party payment platforms are simpler and more easily accepted.
(5) The third-party payment platform itself is attached to a large portal website, and relies on the credit of the bank it cooperates with as a credit support. It can better break through the credit problem in online transactions and is conducive to promoting the rapid development of e-commerce. For example, Alipay has the characteristics of convenient and fast third-party platform payment and real-time payment, which ensures the safety of funds and goods of both parties in online transactions. Its “You dare to pay, I dare to compensate” security service commitment has provided a credit guarantee for merchants, allowing buyers to purchase products from merchants through Alipay with confidence, while also increasing the sales volume and brand image of merchants.