The entire concept of E-commerce and E-business is just beginning in Cyprus. I appears as though thought is being given to these two conepts but a functional system for conducting either business to business or business to customer is not quite present in the form of e-transactions.

E-Commerce

The following is a list of constraints that prohibit Cyprus from taking full advantage of e-commerce, compiled and presented at the Medressa Partnership Event held in March 2003:(1)

-legal framework

-the powerful e-banking infrastructure

-the current electronic payment infrastructure

-the lack of regulatory and institutional bodies

-the absence of flexible and dynamic procedures that can reduce bureaucracy and overheads

-the lack of security, privacy protection and general trust and confidence

-minimal investment in the ICT infrastructure

-appropriate business infrastructure is a necessity and a prerequisite

E-Business

There are select few private firms offering web design services to businesses in order to facilitate the jump into the internet realm. Indeed there are few web pages that are available for local businesses on the island of Cyprus. Certainly the incorporation of E-business by local firms will not only help to facilitate the expansion of the Cypriot economy in general but also the upward spiral of technological development. The one firm which seems to utilize the electronic medium maximally is CYTA, the telephone authority of Cyprus, where it is possible to pay your telephone bill online through a function termed e-bill.

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