A trustmark is an image, logo, or badge that is typically displayed on an E-commerce website, indicating that the site has passed certain digital security tests or is operated by a member of a professional organization. The trustmark is intended to show approval of the brand by a recognizable third party. Customers gain confidence and may be more inclined to transact business with a brand bearing a trustmark. [1] [2]
One of the oldest familiar trustmarks, the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, was established in 1909 as a way for the magazine's Research Institute to endorse specific products backed by a two-year warranty. [3] In the modern era, digital trustmarks can be a machine-readable authentication feature within an identity trust framework. [4]
In the United Kingdom since 2006, there is a non-profit entity called TrustMark that under a master agreement from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [5] licenses and audits businesses that register to carry out work inside and near residential homes. In Canada, there has been a trustmark issued by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada) to identify charities that meet standards of ethics and accountability. [6] In 2018, Mozilla and a consortium including the New York University School of Law backed a product packaging trustmark called Trustable Technology. [7] TRUSTe (now TrustArc) is another specialist in trustmark review services. [8]
E-commerce is the activity of electronically buying or selling products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. E-commerce is the largest sector of the electronics industry and is in turn driven by the technological advances of the semiconductor industry.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was formed through the 1961 merger of the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada, in the largest merger between chartered banks in Canadian history. It is one of two "Big Five" banks founded in Toronto, the other being the Toronto-Dominion Bank.
The Government of Jersey is the executive body of the States of Jersey and is the central government of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The government is led by the Chief Minister, who nominates all the remaining ministers, all elected by the States Assembly.
Good Housekeeping is an American and British lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment Station" in 1900, specializes in product reviews by a staff of scientific experts. The GH Institute is known, in part, for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," a limited warranty program that evaluates products to ensure they perform as intended.
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2020, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.
Digital identity is the phrase referring to the data that computer systems use to represent external agents, which can be individuals, organizations, applications, or devices. For individuals, it involves an aggregation of personal data that is essential for facilitating automated access to digital services, confirming one's identity on the internet, and allowing digital systems to manage interactions between different parties. It is a component of a person's social identity in the digital realm, often referred to as their online identity.
Information security standards or cyber security standards are techniques generally outlined in published materials that attempt to protect the cyber environment of a user or organization. This environment includes users themselves, networks, devices, all software, processes, information in storage or transit, applications, services, and systems that can be connected directly or indirectly to networks.
B2B e-commerce, short for business-to-business electronic commerce, is the sale of goods or services between businesses via an online sales portal. In general, it is used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a company's sales efforts. Instead of receiving orders using human assets manually – by telephone or e-mail – orders are received digitally, reducing overhead costs.
Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. Influencers are someone with the power to affect the buying habits or quantifiable actions of others by uploading some form of original—often sponsored—content to social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok or other online channels. Influencer marketing is when a brand enrolls influencers who have an established credibility and audience on social media platforms to discuss or mention the brand in a social media post. Influencer content may be framed as testimonial advertising.
CommerceNet Singapore is a not-for-profit organisation. It is part of the Palo Alto, California based global CommerceNet consortium of business partners that organises resources from the industry, plans and executes key strategies. CommerceNet Singapore seeks to sustain market initiatives that promote security, innovations and develop human, intellectual, financial and cultural capitals within the self-sustaining enterprise ecosystems.
A trust seal is a seal granted by an entity to websites or businesses for display. Often the purpose is to demonstrate to customers that this business is concerned with security and their business identity. The requirements for the displaying merchant vary, but typically involve a dedication to good security practices, or the use of secure methods for transactions, or most importantly verified existence of the company. Trust seals can come in a variety of forms, including data security seals, business verified seals and privacy seals and are available from a variety of companies, for a fee. A trust seal can be either active or passive. Most seals are validated when they are created and remain so for a specific duration of time, post expiry of which the business/process has to be re-validated.
Entrust Corp., formerly Entrust Datacard, provides software and hardware used to issue financial cards, e-passport production, user authentication for those looking to access secure networks or conduct financial transactions, trust certificated for websites, mobile credentials, and connected devices. The privately-held company is based in Shakopee, Minnesota and employs more than 2,500 people globally.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is an American advertising business organization that develops industry standards, conducts research, and provides legal support for the online advertising industry. The organization represents many of the most prominent media outlets globally, but mostly in the United States, Canada and Europe.
DigiCert, Inc. is a digital security company headquartered in Lehi, Utah. As a certificate authority (CA) and trusted third party, DigiCert provides public key infrastructure (PKI) and validation required for issuing digital certificates or TLS/SSL certificates.
Digital badges are a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality or interest that can be earned in various learning environments.
eIDAS is an EU regulation with the stated purpose of governing "electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions". It passed in 2014 and its provisions came into effect between 2016 and 2018.
A qualified website authentication certificate is a qualified digital certificate under the trust services defined in the European Union eIDAS Regulation.
Trusted Shops is a company founded in Cologne, Germany in 1999, which offers online shops and their customers trust-building services by means of a trustmark, a money-back guarantee process and a system of customer reviews. Online retailers are also provided with assistance in meeting legal requirements. Around 25,000 online shops display the trustmark as of July 2019.
Trust signals are evidence points that appear online to help customers feel more secure in their decision to purchase from a business or buy a product or service.
A privacy seal is a type of trust seal or trustmark granted by third party providers for display on a company's website. Companies pay an annual fee to have an image of the third party provider's seal pasted onto their homepage or privacy policy page. Users can oftentimes click on the seal and be redirected to the web assurance seal service's website which verifies the validity of the privacy seal. They are meant to act as a visual assurance for consumers that the website in question meets a certain standard of privacy. The idea of a privacy seal originates with its physical manifestation – companies have long sought seals of approval like Good Housekeeping to be placed on their tangible products in order to draw in customers who value "quality". While all web assurance seal services follow the guidelines set by the Federal Trade Commission, some providers may have additional requirements. Checks are then conducted on a regular or random basis to ensure compliance. Privacy seals can be applied to various types of e-commerce websites. Some seal providers even create a special privacy seal that is geared toward a certain product like mobile apps or accounting. There are many privacy compliance technology companies, most notably TRUSTArc, CPA Canada WebTrust, PwC Privacy and BBBOnline.
...it can give customers confidence and can encourage them to do business with you.
...may be provided by an identity trust framework operator to certified identity providers within its identity trust framework or federation…
One existing scheme in the UK that displays many of these features is TrustMark, which is licensed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to operate to Government endorsed standards.