Electronic certainty to boost consumer trust and business efficiency

Government legislation supports industry

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Microsoft New Zealand said today that the passing of the Electronic Transaction Bill provided electronic certainty which would help boost consumer’s trust of technology.

The Electronic Transaction Act, puts electronic transactions on the same legal footing as paper-based transactions, and provides for certain paper-based statutory requirements to be met electronically.

Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director, Ross Peat said that Microsoft, in collaboration with industry counterparts, had been working hard to build consumer trust through self-regulatory means, and despite a significant amount of success, governments had an important role in creating legal frameworks to help ensure transactional certainty.

“This Act adds crucial weight to what we are trying to achieve in the industry,” Mr Peat said. “More importantly, the ETA will ensure that New Zealand stays on-par with our international counterparts and will help make global e-commerce transactions more seamless.”

Consumer confidence, certainty and trust in terms of conducting electronic transactions is imperative, especially if New Zealand wants innovation and entrepreneurship on the Internet to realise its full potential, “ he said.

“The positive impact on the wider business community will also be significant, as the Act will inevitably lead to reduced compliance costs for all businesses, and will enable new processes and business models.”

About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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