Beth Cox

Electronic commerce payment services company First Data Corp. said it plans to launch an Internet person-to-person (P2P) payment service, Western Union MoneyZap, in July. The service would leverage the P2P payment brand of First Data ‘s electronic money transfer subsidiary Western Union and will enable consumers to select how, when and where to securely and […]

Contrary to the wave of hype over wireless access to the Net, a new report found that when it comes to wireless financial services, not all consumers are ready to cut the cord. More than one third of intensive online users (39 percent) are not interested in conducting any online financial services delivered via a […]

Andersen Consulting is teaming up with energyLeader.com to help build a national network of 20 regional horizontal hubs, each anchored by a regional utility, and aimed at establishing a new paradigm in B2B e-procurement marketplaces. The cross-industry “horizontals” will be modeled after the plans for the first regional hub announced by Potomac Electric Power Co. […]

Sun-Netscape Alliance company iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions signed a slew of companies as customers and partners for its scaleable portal platform, which will be available at the end of May. CSC, CUseeMe Networks, iSyndicate, Lucent Technologies Enterprise Networks Group, and TNT Vacations all have agreed to use the iPlanet Portal Server to build advanced business-to-business e-commerce […]

zBox Co., which offers a “last-mile” solution for e-commerce delivery, said that the U.S. Postal Service and other major shippers are participating in the alpha test of its “smart” home delivery bin called the zBox. The alpha test began last week in the San Francisco Bay Area. The zBox is a solution for online consumers […]

Application service provider ReturnCentral.com launched a suite of Web-based software apps designed to help businesses control their online product returns. The Virtual Returns Desk software can be integrated into an e-commerce storefront so online customers have a convenient way to return products, eliminating one of the most common complaints about online shopping, the company said. […]

In what it claims is a first for the industry, a site called getacard.com unveiled a new digital Personal Signature feature for personalizing paper greeting cards that can be mailed remotely. The proprietary, free service provides customers with the ability to use a signature in their own handwriting on any card on the getacard.com site, […]

Almost two-thirds of those who shop the Internet several times a week are women, says a new study, and they represent major purchasing power: 32 percent have incomes over $75,000 per year. Who’s not buying? Students, the young, minorities, and households without kids. But according to a study of 2,198 Web users released by Internet […]

iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions, a Sun-Netscape Alliance company, and Open Market Inc. said they will work together to expand and complement iPlanet’s SellerXpert to deliver a standards-based sell-side solution for B2B open digital marketplaces. Open Market and America Online will also integrate AOL technologies, including AOL Quick Checkout and Shopping Search, into Open Market’s e-Business Suite. […]

Start-up Viquity Corp., a developer of outsourced e-business infrastructure for the automation of production procurement, officially launched and made available its Dynamic Commerce Network (DCN). DCN is a platform that enables companies to automate direct procurement processes between their trading partners, in contrast to MRO procurement solutions. Viquity’s first customers include PairGain Technologies Sonic Manufacturing […]

Twenty-seven million adults shopped online for travel and leisure services last year, doubling 1998’s total of 13.4 million, according to a new study. eCRM company Cyber Dialogue said that travel shoppers now make up more than one-third of the total online population, and nearly half of all men online (44 percent) turn to the Web […]

Loyalty marketer MyPoints.com added five brands to its e-commerce portal, MyPoints Shopping!, including CVS pharmacy, specialty retailer Illuminations, magazine publisher National Geographic, department store chain Nordstrom and online pet supply retailer Petopia. The MyPoints loyalty program is an opt-in advertising service with more than eight million members who earn rewards points for interacting with marketers […]