Facilitating the Intention to Expand E-business Payment Systems Use in Nigerian Small Firms: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

Electronic business (e-business) refers to the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT) to support of all aspects of business (Turban et al., 2010). The term was first used by IBM's marketing and Internet teams in 1996 (Amor, 1999). E-business payment systems or solutions refer to the various innovative applications and approaches including the use of credit cards, magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) checks, automated teller machines (ATMs), electronic cash (E-cash), electronic funds transfer (EFT), amongst others that are used to facilitate the customer’s decision to pay for a product or services (Vassiliou, 2004). Gholami et al. (2010, 53) while citing Andam (2003, 22) describe e-payment systems as “the use of pre-loaded, debit and credit cards on the Internet or other electronic devices to perform daily transactions which include paying for goods and services, transfers and bill payments at any time of the day.” These researchers added that e-payments are part of a larger electronic payment systems (EPS), which includes a system of financial exchange between buyers and sellers in the online environment through the use of such digital financial instruments as credit cards, electronic checks, and digital cash.