Online shopping boom means safer payments

The British are embracing the technological age, with online shopping figures doubling in the past year.

09:19 31 May 2004

The British are embracing the technological age, with online shopping figures doubling in the past year.

According to the latest figures from Visa EU people spent twice as much at the beginning of this year as at the start of 2003.

In the UK and across Europe each quarter online spend is doubling - compared with the previous year. This quarter UK sales figures increased 123 per cent.

The research comes as Visa prepares for the launch of an easy password protection system called Verified by Visa - which guarantees cardholder identity when shopping online and is estimated to reduce the number of disputed online transactions by up to 80 per cent.

The vice president of Visa EU, Hugo Bottelier, pointed out the security issues involved in online shopping: "As cardholders expand their retail horizons, it is important that the banks create a secure environment for them to use their payment cards."

Commenting on the figures, Bernard Ovink, vice president of Visa EU, said: "When we limit the risk of fraud, online shopping will boom."

The retail industry has seen huge increases in business online, particularly in the area of food and drink where sales have more than trebled. This growth has been helped by a massive rise in people ordering their groceries from supermarkets over the web.

The popularity of buying books and music is also still strong, with an increase of 116 per cent.

The amount spent on domestic services has grown by more than three times in the last year - the public has in fact spent almost five times as much on insurance, and four times as much on utility bill payments and taxes over the last twelve months.