MasterCard plans online mall

MasterCard Worldwide is set to unveil the MasterCard MarketPlace, an online mall with more than 28 000 merchants, reports InternetRetailer.

The payment card network is collaborating on the project with Next Jump, an Internet company that specialises in personalised shopping.

The MasterCard MarketPlace, marketplace.mastercard.com, features promotions, such as 15% off at Kodak.com. If a shopper is interested in a promotion, he or she can sign in to the MarketPlace and receive the promotional code.

To handle the post-crisis credit problems of Chinese small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs), Alibaba.com, the listed unit of the Chinese B2B e-commerce group Alibaba, has unveiled an entry-level service tool for corporate credit construction and e-commerce, states ChinaTechNews.

With the popularisation of this service tool, Alibaba.com hopes to promote the building of China's first SME credit system. Based on the transaction records of users of the service tool, Alibaba.com has reportedly set up the largest SME credit system in China.

The company also invested CNY1 billion (R1.06 billion) in the establishment of a credit fund to cope with trade disputes and fraud problems.

The perennial threat of identity theft has hampered the growth of e-commerce and digital businesses as both business organisations and consumers remain fearful of becoming victims, according to a top official at Software AG, writes GulfNews.

"Identity theft, the act of using illegally obtained personal information to commit fraud and other crimes, has become a significant threat to societies around the world,” says Marco Gerazounis, senior vice-president of Software AG.

“Credit card fraud alone, one of several types of identity theft-related crimes that collectively deliver a significant blow to global economies, was estimated to have caused up to $10 billion in losses last year," he continues.