TEXT 1A

CT

IVIT

IES

Pet

rini ©

201

0 D

e A

gost

ini S

cuol

a S

pa

– N

ovar

a

1

1 Before reading the text, revise the terminology related to Information Technology in business.

a Write in full what the following acronyms stand for.

1 CAD

2 RFID

3 CAM

b Write the acronyms for the four main areas of E-commerce.

1

2

3

4

What if you could send money to that friend who loaned you $20 last week by using your mobile phone rather than having to go through the trouble of going to the ATM or mailing a check? All you’d need would be your buddy’s e-mail address or cell number – and presto.Folks in Japan and Europe can already do that. Soon Americans will, too. Studies show that U.S. consumers, particularly the younger set, have embraced the convenience of online shopping and e-banking and are now ready to move to the next frontier: person-to-person mobile payments. A recent poll by Mercatus, a financial consulting firm, showed that the proportion

of people aged 26 to 34 who had used a cell phone to buy goods or pay for a product or service had doubled, to 14%, in the past year.That’s why a great number of banks and financial companies are gearing up to add person-to-person payments to their existing mobile and online banking platforms.While the banks are only now waking to the potential of person-to-person payments, PayPal has built its business on them. The

company, acquired by eBay in 2002, boasts more than 78 million active account holders worldwide and introduced a service earlier this year that allows users to make transfers over a cell phone. Now it is teaming up with banks to offer the same service. The bank’s person-to-person payment system will be integrated with regular online banking. At the other

end the recipient may get the cash deposited directly into an account or have it posted to an existing credit card or a prepaid card.As regards

security mobile banking is currently more secure than online banking because cellular networks are tough to hack into.

Source: Business Week

20

15

5

10

0

Percent who have used a cell Phone to transfer money or Pay for something

Note: Based on a June 2009 survey of 1,100 U.S. consumersData: Mercatus

Early adoptErs

ages 18-25 ages 26-34 all ages

Buddy, Can you E-Mail Me 100 Bucks?The Next Big Thing in U.S. banking may be mobile person-to-person money transfers

AC

TIV

ITIE

S

2

Pet

rini ©

201

0 D

e A

gost

ini S

cuol

a S

pa

– N

ovar

aTEXT 1

2 Read the text.

a Find the synonyms or the translations of the following words and phrases.

1 close friend

2 ecco fatto

3 sondaggio

4 getting equipped

5 come together to achieve a common goal

6 difficult

7 use a computer to gain unauthorized access to data

b Write the acronym for person-to-person mobile payment.

3 Tick (✓) these sentences true (T) or false (F).

1 Now payments can also be made using a cell phone. T F

2 Person-to-person mobile payments have doubled in the US. T F

3 Banks and financial companies are starting to add this service to their offers. T F

4 PayPal is thriving on person-to-person mobile payments. T F

5 PayPal competes with banks. T F

6 Person-to-person mobile payments will be an integral part of online banking. T F

4 Look at the chart. What age range are person-to-person mobile payments most popular with?

5 Fill in the gaps in the summary below.

Person-to-person (1) payment allows to pay for goods or

(2) using a cell phone. It is already in (3) in Japan

and Europe and will soon be in the US. Younger (4) who appreciate the

convenience of (5) shopping and (6) are eager to

(7) it.

Banks are getting (8) to offer this new service, while PayPal is already

(9) it worldwide.

Mobile (10) is more secure from (11) than online

banking.

6 Describe a situation in which person-to-person mobile payment would be useful to you.

AC

TIV

ITIE

S

Pet

rini ©

201

0 D

e A

gost

ini S

cuol

a S

pa

– N

ovar

a

3

TEXT 1

PayPal is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. PayPal serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders.

A PayPal account can be funded with an electronic debit from a bank account or by a credit card. The recipient of a PayPal transfer can either request a check from PayPal, establish their own PayPal deposit account or request a transfer to their bank account. PayPal is an example of a payment intermediary service that facilitates worldwide e-commerce.

PayPal performs payment processing for online vendors, auction sites, and other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. It sometimes also charges a transaction fee for receiving money (a percentage of the amount sent plus an additional fixed amount). The fees charged depend on the currency used, the payment option used, the country of the sender, the country of the recipient, the amount sent and the recipient’s account type. In addition, eBay purchases made by credit card through PayPal may incur a “foreign transaction fee” if the seller is located in another country, as credit card issuers are automatically informed of the seller’s country of origin.

On October 3, 2002, PayPal became a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay. Its corporate headquarters are in San Jose, California, United States at eBay’s North First Street satellite office campus. The company also has significant operations in Omaha, (Nebraska), Scottsdale (Arizona) and Austin (Texas) in the U.S., Chennai, Dublin, Berlin and Tel-Aviv. As of July 2007, across Europe, PayPal also operates as a Luxembourg-based bank.

PayPal:

1 What is it?

2 What is it for?

3 Who is it for?

4 What does it charge?

5 Who owns it?

6 Where does it operate?

7 Read the following Wiki about PayPal and then answer the questions below.