The children of today (under 18's) have grown up using the internet and have become well established in online shopping. However unlike older online shoppers, they are more likely to overspend, purchase prohibited items and are also be more likely to fall for scams and ID theft.
There are several reasons for the need to control children's online payment activity
Online shopping for under 18's will reach £2.5 billion this year (2013). Therefore the need to safegaurd them and create a safe, responsible and happy shopping environment is paramount.
To begin with, just because children are constantly online, this does not mean they know everything and are tech savvy. Secondly, how many children do you know who have their own credit or debit cards?... Exactly! They shop online and pay with their parents credit cards. Lastly, because of the increasing number of children and teenagers shopping online, companies are increasingly aiming their marketing at them and this market share has increased year on year.
Keeping Children Safe Online
Undoubtedly the most effective way to safeguard your children (and your finances) is to educate them. Set ground rules about using the internet. They should learn to take responsibility for their own actions and develop their own judgement. However the use of parental control settings on your browser, search engine and internet security package (or specialist parental control software) would help too.
The changing online payments landscape
When the above doesn't work, what else is there? Virtual Piggy, that's what!
Virtual Piggy is a payment facility that allows children to safely purchase online while keeping parents in control of all aspects of spending. Virtual Piggy's service works by allowing a parent to register an account, within each account, the parent is able to control how much money is available to the child, how often they receive new funds, which merchants the child is allowed to buy from, and any desired spending limits. The parent is also able to "turn off" the child accounts, and request notifications when purchases are made. The child is able to login to their account, which tracks recent purchases, funds available, savings goals and charitable donations.
Benefits for merchants
Merchants must actively integrate the Virtual Piggy payment option into their ecommerce structure to make it accessible to their customers. With under 18's shopping up 56% in 2012, this would seem a very good way to enter the market and keep everyone safe and happy. www.virtualpiggy.com
Who are Web-Merchant Services? Learn more at www.web-merchant.co.uk
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