Privacy And Security Urged At E-Commerce Summit

Speaking today at the Government's E-commerce Summit, E-LOAN New Zealand CEO Bruce Gordon gave a clear message about the need to assure consumers of a secure and private environment when offering services online.

"One breach of security or privacy can ruin a business overnight", says Mr Gordon, "and it will also reflect on other online operators, in this fledgling industry".

He urged businesses to "work overtime to assure customers of their protection". This includes certifying the standard of security at websites and protecting information both during transmission and in storage.

"It's also important to prominently state security and privacy measures used on your site, so that visitors can readily identify whether the site is adequately secure", said Mr Gordon.

"E-LOAN's research* shortly after our launch in June showed that 81% of Internet users surveyed considered security very important. People are happy to leave technical matters to banks and IT specialists but still want to know how secure a system is. It's up to providers to make their security and privacy assurances prominent and clear - and it's in their interest to ensure consumers are comfortable doing business online".

Mr Gordon said impartiality is also paramount for comparative shopping services such as E-LOAN - www.eloannz.co.nz.

"At E-LOAN our job is to champion the consumer and ensure the right loan is selected based solely on the customer's needs".

He also advocated the creation of a quality mark for online NZ businesses. "An approval scheme is needed for New Zealand websites to show that a certain standard is met. Of course this has to be done in a way which is both affordable for businesses and practically enforceable."

E-LOAN New Zealand's website, eloannz.co.nz, uses 128-bit encryption to protect information supplied by customers. The website is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers and was the first site in New Zealand to receive the PricewaterhouseCoopers 'BetterWeb' seal.

E-LOAN New Zealand was recently awarded double honours at the ANZ Interactive New Zealand Awards, taking the Business to Consumer and Information/Reference awards.

*BRC Marketing and Social Research 2000 - ENDS -

For further information contact:

Bruce Gordon CEO, E-LOAN New Zealand ph 09 359 5020 Bruce.Gordon@eloannz.co.nz

Communications contact:

Leigh Strange ph 04 499 9111 leigh@svl.co.nz

- http://www.eloannz.co.nz -

© Scoop Media