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To: KeepItSimple who wrote (76044)	8/31/1999 8:43:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Mexico e-commerce hampered by concerns over fraud By Karina Balderas MEXICO CITY, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Relatively few computers and Internet accounts, fear of credit card fraud and spotty delivery services are hampering the growth of electronic commerce in Mexico, where only a small number of companies offer products for sale through Web sites. In the United States and Europe, you can buy anything from a book to a car with a click of the mouse, and Mexicans are happy to shop on foreign Web sites. But they balk at giving out credit-card information to domestic businesses over the Internet, fearing that security is weaker in Mexico. And they also do not relish the long wait to verify credit-card information by phone, a common practice in Mexico. "For now, electronic commerce as such is done only between providers because there, the pay is obviously guaranteed,' said Diana Daniels, Latin America marketing manager of Cabletron Systems <CS.N>, which provides network services for companies doing business with each other over the Web. According to Visa Mexico, which offers one of the few secure payment systems for on-line transactions in Mexico, of almost 30,000 Mexican sites on the World Wide Web, less than 1 percent is dedicated to electronic commerce. Mexico's consumer protection agency says there are only 3.6 million computers in a country of almost 100 million people. Estimates differ, but industry analysts and executives put the total of Internet accounts in Mexico at between 350,000 to 410,000, with some 800,000 to one million people using the accounts. By contrast, more than 100 million personal computers are expected to ship worldwide this year, largely in the United States, according to industry market researchers. America Online Inc.'s <AOL.N> services lead the U.S. market with 20 million Internet subscribers. Of the few Mexican companies that do business over the Web, none offers a truly electronic operation because they all still verify payment through a phone call, industry watchers say. E-commerce in Mexico also has to depend on delivery companies that are expensive, not always fast, and do not cover every destination in Mexico. Legislators said businesses were also holding back from selling products on line because there were no laws to protect them or their customers in Internet transactions. "In this area as in many others, technology has moved faster than legislation," said Humberto Trevino, a congressman from the conservative National Action Party, who is pushing a bill to regulate e-commerce. Trevino said one of the first steps Congress has to take is to make codes or personal identification numbers used in electronic purchases legally binding, like written signatures. Meanwhile, many Mexicans are e-shopping abroad. A study by the Monterrey Technological Institute (ITESM) shows that 80 percent of e-commerce by Mexicans is with U.S.-based Web sites -- for software, books, music, computers, concert tickets. To be sure, some Mexican companies say e-commerce is a welcome supplement to its regular business. The Gandhi bookstore chain says it is selling 300 to 350 books a day through its virtual store (www.gandhi.com.mx), in addition to the 3,000 books it sells at its six stores in Mexico City and Guadalajara. "It's a matter of habit, of demystification. People who can buy over the Internet do it because it's fun, because it cuts down on time and because you don't need to try on books like you do clothes," said Leon Achar, marketing director for Gandhi. Other Mexican businesses, including several large chain stores, have begun setting up information pages that could become on-line shopping sites in the future. REUTERS Rtr 15:23 08-31-99