On Legal Issues, Online Payment E-commerce Environment

Internet Payment is an indispensable and key sector of Electronic Commerce since Electronic Commerce cannot function without capital movement. Nowadays, both China's Electronic Commerce and Internet Payment grow rapidly with the invention of various kinds of E-Money and the emergence of Internet Payment Service Providers. While technological innovation greatly boosts the development of Internet Payment, it challenges the current legal system. Legal problems related to Internet Payment get involved in several legal institutes, ranging from civil law, criminal law, economic law, procedure law to international law. At present, laws of our country seem to fail to solve the new problems arising from Internet Payment. However, legislation on Internet Payment in China lags behind its market performance, therefore, there is vacuum in legal enforcement. In order to enhance the development of Internet Payment in China, laws and regulations in this domain need to be perfected urgently on the basis of China's National Situation and research on relevant regulations of other countries and international organizations.In the thesis, the author makes an introduction about the current development of Internet Payment by analyzing the features of Internet Payment and its tools. The legal properties of parties in Internet Payment and their legal relationship have also been demonstrated in details. Based on a comparison of the legislation and legal theories of countries, the author illustrates the concept and legal property of E-Money and liabilities for the issuance and circulation of E-Money. Meanwhile, being aware of the current E-Money development and its relevant legislation in China, the author highlights a few points as reference for the perfection of China's legislations on E-Money. Furthermore, through the research on Electronic Fund Transfer Act and UCC 4-A of the United States, the author probes into the damages arising from Internet Payment risks or failure and the enlightenment for China's legislation on Electronic Fund Transfer. Finally, the author figures out the importance of Privacy Protection and comes up with the advice of perfecting our regulations on Privacy Protection by using the advanced laws and regulations abroad for reference.