E-Contracts are conceptually very similar to the traditional paper-based Commercial Contracts. E-Commerce can be used as synonymous to E-Contracts. E-Commerce includes all kinds commercial transaction carried out through an electronic medium, essentially the Internet.
There are three major kinds of E-Commerce transactions:
  1. Business-to-Consumer      (B2C)
  2. Business-to-Business        (B2B)
  3. Business-to-Government   (B2G)
The Vendors present their products, prices and terms to the prospective buyers online. Buyers take into consideration the offer presented on a particular commodity or service, negotiate prices and terms (where possible), place their orders and make payments. Thereafter, the vendors deliver the products to the assigned shipping destination by the buyer.
There are few legal essentials involved in E-Contracts, so as to form a Valid Contract.
A valid contract is one which satisfies the following essentials:
  1. there must be two or more separate parties to a contract, 
  2. those parties must have a common consensus of agreement of the terms of a contract and must provide free consent to the contract, 
  3.  the parties must have an intention of creating legal relationships with one-another in relation to the contract, 
  4.  the most important object of a contract is consideration, which should be given by all parties to the contract and must be in amount (cash forms) not kind.
An Electronic Contract involves slightly differing essentials including those of a valid contract, which are:
  1. you may contract with a pre-programmed Server, a machine.
  2. the principal of common consensus/ meeting of minds may never take place in an e-contract.
  3. intention of creating legal relations must be present.
  4. in an e-contract payment is done electronically, by Bank Transfer or  use of Credit Cards or Debit Cards.
Most e-contracts have multiple contract formations. First contract is between the customer and service provider, second contract is between the  Bank and the two parties to the contract (customer & service provider).
Electronic Contracts are most widely used in the world today. They are of prime significance in the financial markets and the public and private sectors as maximum works are done by E-Governance and Internet administration of services. These basics about electronic contracts make it easier to understand our online purchases and the transactional relationships between the Banks, Service Providers and the Customers.