The WebTrust e-commerce seal:  Your assurance of security and trust. CA WebTrust is a trademark of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA).

The CA/CPA WebTrust is a unique seal of assurance which has been developed jointly by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) to break down the barriers to electronic commerce by assuring online customers that businesses carrying the seal adhere to standard business practices and controls.

Designed to build trust and confidence between businesses and consumers, WebTrust will raise the bar for electronic commerce business practices and provide independent verfication that Web sites meet AICPA and CICA prescribed criteria.

The WebTrust seal granted to a web site assures compliance with WebTrust principles and related criteria.  When consumers click on the seal, they immediately link to an official report, issued by the CA/CPA, concerning the e-commerce web site, as well as the complete text of the WebTrust principles and related criteria.

WebTrust principles address three broad categories:

1. Business Practices Disclosures:   The Web site operator discloses its business practices for electronic commerce transactions and executes transactions in accordance with its disclosed business practices.

2. Transaction Integrity:  The Web site operator maintains effective controls to provide reasonable assurance that customers' orders placed using electronic commerce are completed and billed as agreed.

3. Information Protection:  The Web site operator maintains effective controls to provide reasonable assurance that private customer information obtained as a result of electronic commerce is protected from uses not related to its business.

According to a national Yankelovich study, consumers are very concerned about the privacy and protection of their personal information (including credit card numbers, social insurance or security numbers and buying pattern history) when shopping online.  However, according to the same study, consumers would be more willing to shop online if there were CA/CPA assurance of a site.

Only CAs/CPAs who have completed training and have been licensed by the CICA or AICPA in accordance with performance standards are qualified to issue the WebTrust seal.  Training, certification and licensing ensure consistent application of the WebTrust principles and related criteria.

The WebTrust seal was developed by the AICPA/CICA and VeriSign, a world-renowned provider of digital authentication services.   VeriSign encryption and authentication technologies and practices help assure consumers that the seal on a web site is authentic and that the site is entitled to display it.  This means the seal is difficult to forge and is always verifiable as current.

We invite you to contact us, for further assistance and consultation on the CA WebTrust certification program.