Cards constitute one of the most widespread means of paying off monetary obligations. The card-holder faces many problems in the environment of electronic commerce. It is essential that the negative aspects which surround this means of payment are minimized in order to completely eliminate technological problems. Article 46 of the Spanish Law of Arrangement of Retail Commerce aims to protect the card-holder from fraud. This article anticipates protective measures for the consumer but not the ways in which the cardholder could benefit in practice. For this reason we have to build consumer confidence in order to promote the use of cards in long-distance contracts, and thus reinforce and develop electronic commerce. It is necessary to create a more detailed plan of execution in order to prevent the problems which shill affect the practical use of cards.