With the development of online shopping, the number of third-party online payment systems increases. Alipay is a commonly used third-party online payment system among Chinese consumers. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that affect the users’ acceptance of Alipay among Chinese B2C customers. This study adopts a deductive, theory testing approach. Based on the model of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), a research model and hypotheses were proposed. A survey study was performed with a quota sample of 300 Chinese online shopping consumers. Based on the responses, the hypotheses were tested through statistical analysis. Through testing the hypotheses, it was concluded that: “Social Influence”, “Effort expectancy” were the factors that most prominently could affect B2C user’s acceptance of Alipay. Hence, third-party online systems suppliers should focus on social marketing and increasing the ease of use of the systems to increase user acceptance. Other similar third-party online payment company could take those identified factors as reference in further user acceptance study, and the proposed research model in this study could also help in improving understanding of user acceptance in similar third-part online payment system.

How consumers pay influences how they feel about a transaction. In particular, paying by card has been argued to have an effect on the perception of cost; making it less salient and painful. We propose and show that payment method also influences how consumers feel about the acquired good. Specifically we focus on effects of the payment method on psychological ownership, i.e. the perception of an object as "mine". We propose that cash payment results in stronger psychological ownership because it influences the extent of perceived investment in an object. We provide evidence for the proposed effect from field and laboratory settings. Results of a longitudinal exit-survey and an experiment show that cash payers report higher levels of immediate psychological ownership than card payers. However, this effect seems to depend on the meanings associated with a payment method. Asian students (who associate credit card payment with investment and debt) do not exhibit this effect. Moreover the initial boost in psychological ownership seems to be comparably shortlived. Whilst those paying in cash experience no further increase in psychological ownership over time, those paying by card do. (author's abstract)

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how Western Canadian wheat producers’ make their marketing decisions. In Canada, wheat, durum wheat, and barley produced for human consumption and export are marketed through the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), which offers several marketing contracts providing distinct combinations of risk, return, and cash flow. Pool pricing is the default alternative in which the CWB markets grain for producers, while Producer Payment Options (PPOs) represent instruments producers can use to price their wheat outside the pool. Results suggest that generally producers are not able to identify profit opportunities with PPOs, but active marketing strategies tend to generate better performance compared to passive strategies. Further, producers do not seem to repeat the same strategy every year and are influenced by previous performance when choosing their current marketing strategy. Finally, producers seem to follow price signals in choosing marketing contracts, indicating they track market movements and respond to the incentive of locking in higher prices.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Zürich.

(EN) The main aim of this diploma thesis is to critically assess the implications of the revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) for Banking and the Fintech Industry. In order to do so, the thesis firstly focuses on the current banking system together with the recent problems associated with the Global financial crisis of 2007-2008, which have given rise to substantial changes of the regulation of banking system at the EU level. Subsequently, the thesis compares the banking system with the rising financial technology (Fintech) industry and provides an overview of this industry together with regulation thereof. The provided overview of Banking and the Fintech Industry is followed by the analysis of the original Directive on Payment Services (PSD) and the PSD2, which also includes relevant case-law of the CJEU. Finally, the last part of the thesis assesses the possible implications of the PSD2, while it takes into account other relevant factors that may affect the potential development of the Fintech Industry. From the respective analysis it becomes apparent that the regulation of the banking system at the EU level has been strengthened in response to the Global financial crisis given that the insufficient regulation of banking was one of the main causes of the Global financial crisis....

Thesis describes technical and economic aspects of payment transaction using the empirical analysis on real data of payment institution. It focuses on the description of selected products provided by payment institution and empirically analyzes them on the basis of the available data in terms of the number of transactions in individual currencies, the ratio of product types utilization and clearing and settlement used by the payment institution. The thesis also describes the security requirements necessary for the conduct of payment transactions on the Internet for non-technically educated audiences. At the end of the thesis there are several recommendations for the development of payment institution based on empirical knowledge from data analysis, which can be used for further analysis of the payment institution.

The mobile commerce has given birth to many mobile payment systems and this thesis covers the security of a theoretical system where the communication is handled by the customer. There are many technologies that can be used when implementing such a system, each with different strengths and weaknesses. The system designed in this project was constructed for micropayments in vending machines that has no connection to the vendor except for the connection supplied by the customer. The design was then used for analyzing the threats against the designed system and comparing it to an identical system where the connection is supplied by the seller in order to find out the effects on security when changing the communication channel. The comparison shows that even though the designed system is more vulnerable, it is not a major difference and with low value payments, the mobile payment system can depend on the connection supplied by the user. The main advantages to security with this method is the protection against Denial of Service attacks and the protection against mass identity thefts as authentication is no longer done on the machine.

The dissertation discusses problems of redundancy payments and other forms of compensation under labour law. Its focus is to describe in depth the current Czech law system's range of compensation which is related to employment termination. Every termination of employment comes with certain rights as well as obligations for either the employer or the employee. Among some of the obligations, provisions of different types of compensation are found, to which the rights are gained by termination of labour relations that are implied by the law as well as the agreement made by both sides. This dissertation is divided into five chapters. The introduction describes the labour law in general, because labour relations are ones of the most fundamental law relations in the life of almost every person. In the second chapter, we encounter the main topic of this dissertation - redundancy payments issues, what is their purpose, how one's rights to the payment are gained, on what legal grounds, what is the amount paid in specific cases of employment termination, and how it is calculated. The third chapter focuses on a specific clause and qualification agreement on improvement and deepening knowledge, and related labour compensation. Subsequently, in the fourth chapter, I discuss the severance issues as another...

In this Master's thesis there is discussed the subject of redundancy payment and other forms of compensation in labour-law relations. In individual chapters there are described different types of compensation, which the current labour law knows and at the same time there are mentioned even compensations for which employees shall have the right according to the previous legislation. Only marginally there are mentioned compensation provided within the civil service. The Master's thesis is divide into seven chapters. In the first chapter there is performed the systematic classification of compensations, which corresponds with the content of this thesis. Second chapter is focused on the general matters connected with severance payment such as the origin of claim for redundancy payment, difference between contractual and statutory redundancy payment, paying of redundancy payment or return of redundancy payment. There is perform also the comparison with redundancy payment according to the Act No. 65/1965 Coll., Labour Code in effect until 31st December 2006. Third chapter is focused on manners of the termination of labour relation establishing the claim for redundancy payment. In detail there are analysed manners of the termination of labour relation by an employer and termination of labour relation by...

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted