The internet can open up new opportunities for your business to buy and sell goods or services online. Such activities are generically referred to as e-commerce.

The business relationships supported by e-commerce can be broadly split into two main categories:

• business to consumer (B2C) - selling products or services directly to individual consumers
• business to business (B2B) - selling goods or services to other businesses

Business to consumer

Selling goods in a B2C environment typically requires a website with an online shop front. Consumers anywhere in the world can browse your online shop. When they decide to make a purchase they proceed to an electronic checkout where there will be some form of payment-processing function. This will typically be via a merchant account, which you would set up via an acquiring bank, and which is capable of processing credit and debit cards.