Online commerce is accomplished with absolutely no chargeback fraud. The fact is that you cannot reverse a transaction.

Last week, all major network news stations ran the story about Heartland Payment Systems and how some hackers had continuous access to their customer transaction database(s) since late last year. Somebody left the “digital backdoor” open and the criminals gained easy access to customer names, addresses, financial accounts and likely other private info like SSNs, DOBs or information of a personal nature.

The payment processing computers which the intruders copied, were used to process 100 million card transactions per month for 175,000 merchants.(that’s a lot of credit card transactions) The company spokesperson said the hackers had access for several months and they just don’t know how many hundreds of millions of card accounts were exposed.

From our industry’s point of view, if you are a retailer selling online and accepting digital gold currency, you can simply laugh off this type of CC  fraud.  Chargebacks are just not possible with a digital gold system. All transactions are final.

As the e-gold slogan goes, “Get paid and stay paid.”

Of course this is excellent if you are the seller (no chargebacks keep your income), but it’s not always great if you are on the other end as the buyer. If you have ever bought merchandise online using digital gold and gotten ‘ripped’ or been dissatisfied with your purchase….well there was not much you could do but flame the company on some forum and hope others read it.

This issue has been haunting digital gold users for about a decade.

No digital gold company has yet built in a customer satisfaction/rating system or active dispute resolution required on all account holders. Webmoney does a great  job with offering a customer blackmark and arbitration service, but it is not required to be used by all account holders, so the possibility of a bad sale is still present. Webmoney even has a warning code built into each first time transaction so the account holder recognizes when they are spending to someone new. (it’s excellent) I would imagine this also cuts down on incorrect transfers.

The newest DGC coming out of beta testing right now is iGolder.com and this system could develop into a powerful new commerce tool for DGC buyers and sellers.

In a pro-active attempt to prevent fraudulent online sales, the iGolder account offers all users two new features which are available on on all transactions. As a new iGolder user or visitor to their web site you will notice a feature named Safetransit™.  Safetransit is the name coined by iGolder which designates a delayed transfer of gold where closing the transaction is based on the successful receipt of goods. It’s similar to escrow because the receiver has to perform before the funds will be delivered.

A Safetransit sale provides a time delay for the proper completion of any delivery and inspection of goods. The seller may set the time delay for his transaction. Unlike escrow, this delay will not last forever, once the time is up, the funds will transfers regardless if the sale is a happy one. (don’t let the clock run out)  During the delay period, the buyer may stop the transfer for any reason, thus protecting himself from non-shipment or misrepresentation of merchandise.

Because all DGC transactions are not reversible my opinion is that wide scale retail use of a DGC has not yet caught on with the mainstream public. However, this tool which protects buyers, could be part of a retail solution.

If the transfer is blocked, the buyer needs the consent of the seller to recover any gold or the buyer may file a dispute and “win” the arbitration. Any disputes regarding goods or services are professionally resolved before the payment is released.  The Safetransit feature protects both buyer and seller and this feature seems to be a very workable solution for digital gold commerce.

Adding even one more layer of fraud protection to this feature, is the “First Transaction Protection Delay”.  I just completed a spend in the DGCmagazine iGolder test account. I sent a gram of test gold to the owner of the company. After completing the transaction a small notice appeared my the transaction details screen. It reads as follows:

Miminum Safetransit time
There is a minimum Safetransit time between you and Daniel’s Primary Account is 1.0 days because the first transactions between 2 individuals have an initial delay of 1 day

What has occurred is yet another layer of protection for ALL first time transactions between accounts. This is similar to the Webmoney feature but a bit more restrictive.  If you have never done business with an iGolder account, the closing of your first transfer will be automatically be put on hold for a period of 24 hours. The intention here is to protect both buyer and seller.

The First Transaction Protection Delay also shields your account from unauthorized transactions.  For instance, if a hacker managed to steal your iGolder password and attempts to empty your iGolder account, the hacker will have to wait a minimum of 24 hours for the transfer to clear, giving you time to inform us about the unauthorized transaction and recover your gold.  The wait period depends on the transaction amount as displayed in the table below:

The First Transaction Protection Delay only applies to the first transaction between two different iGolder members.  After 30 days, all future transactions with the same two iGolder members are instant, regardless of the amount.

The First Transaction Protection Delay is exclusively for protecting you against unauthorized transactions; it is not a grace period for you or the other member to cancel a transfer.  iGolder offers tools such as Safetransit™ and Cancellation Provision allowing both parties to gracefully delay or cancel a transaction.

Notice that the protection delay has drawbacks: you have to wait the same delay when you receive gold from each new member.  Depending on reputation, we may waive this delay so that you can receive gold instantly regardless of the transaction amount.  Waiving the transaction delay still protects you against unauthorized transfer, because when you send gold, the receiver has to wait the protection delay, giving you time to report any unauthorized transaction.

Safetransit left me wondering exactly what was involved with a dispute resolution and how hard is it going to be if I need to file a complaint? http://www.igolder.com/dispute-resolutions/ We will take a look at this process in a future article.

Offering much more than any standard online payment system, WebMoney.EU is composed of a wide network of interdependent businesses.  Included are e-money issuers, merchants, dealers, and entrepreneurs all operating under the regulatory framework of EU Member States. WebMoney.EU services provide payment logistical support, accounting, and processing for their network members.

By using the WebMoney Transfer™ technology, WebMoney.EU ensures that all consumers, merchants, and Issuers are supplied with advanced software along with the business and legal tools needed for instantaneous e-money transactions. WebMoney.EU also employs a sophisticated encryption technology which provides users with a safe environment for online shopping and business.

WebMoney.EU operates as an electronic version of money known as ‘e-money’ which is stored in digital WM Notes.  E-money is an electronic surrogate of cash. WM Notes can be used to shop online plus instantly transfer money to associates, friends & family.

WM Notes are very simple to use, cost-effective, and extremely reliable. Any note can be split once or multiple times. This division creates multiple smaller notes and the allocated value can be anything adding up to the previous total amount. Multiple smaller notes can also be merged into larger ones.

Operating through European regulations & standards, WebMoney.EU allows all European Union electronic money institutions, regardless of their size or capital, to issue and service e-money. WebMoney.EU accurately ensures that while engaged in daily e-commerce, all users of e-money (bearers) can quickly verify the authenticity of a WM Note at any time.

Using both mobile and Internet communications Webmoney.EU enables business merchants regardless of industry or market share, to accept electronic money as a secure form of payment. All transactions are immediate and non-reversible.

For merchants, WebMoney.EU offers outstanding software solutions. The package includes a simple-to-use Trade Interface which allows Internet commerce merchants to accept small sized cashless payments, provides for accurate cash flow accounting and makes completed transactions simple by providing for an easy exchange of WM Notes into regular money. The list of benefits for merchants includes:

• No charge back
• No set-up fees
• No monthly fees
• Low transaction fees (2% per transaction)
• Selection of Issuer is subject to merchant’s preference

All of the tools and software which are needed to set up an online business are provided to each new business account at no cost. WM Notes open many new possibilities for consumers, businesses, and e-money issuers.
The First WM E-money Issuer

WM Notes are stored online and can be controlled by users via access codes. The first WM e-money Issuer is already up and running from Latvia. ELMI “Digital Money”, SIA (Latvia) offers WM Notes for e-money denominated in Latvian Lats – LVL.LV1. Users can fund their WM Keeper wallets with LVL.LV1 using e-currency exchange services at EXCHANGE.LV. E-money operator, SIA “Digimoney” (Latvia), allows :

• Users access to the the extensive global network of WebMoney
• Electronic money institutions and banks (issuers) to issue and service their own e-money
• Merchants to sell goods and services in exchange for electronic money
• Dealers to sell and distribute electronic money.

For licensed financial institutions and banks, WebMoney.EU offers software solutions for the proper issuing, servicing, and the accounting of e-money. All WebMoney.EU products are issued within the applicable regulations and guidelines of EU Member States.

Using this software, Issuers can earn a profit by selling and servicing the e-money products. This software allows Issuers to avoid the considerable start up costs associated with the software development, technical support, and the maintenance of high-speed Internet channels. With this turnkey solution and comprehensive support provided at no additional cost, WebMoney.EU Issuers can concentrate their efforts on the marketing and distribution of this advanced financial product.

Issuer Benefits

• Income earned from WM Note transactions
• No monthly fees
• No set-up fees
• Access to a wide distribution network of dealers

For specific questions on the operation of WM Notes please direct all emails to: info@webmoney.eu

WebMoney is continuously looking for new partners, such as e-money institutions, banks, merchants, and dealers. By becoming a WebMoney partner, your business gains access to a unique and growing European e-money marketplace. For more information please visit http://www.webmoney.EU

About Webmoney

Webmoney is the recognized global leader in private digital money transfer. For over ten years, Webmoney Transfer has been the forerunner in the creation of private electronic money systems.  This digital e-wallet services offers cost effective multi currency online payments products.

In November, some 200 people gathered to hear Dr. Nash speak and he discussed the current downturn in the US economy and the global financial world.  In case you don’t know Dr. Nash, he is the winner of the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. (a movie was made about his life entitled ‘A Beautiful Mind’)

Nash told the audience that such financial crises would be less likely to occur if there was some international monetary standard, such as the gold standard or competition among worldwide currencies, to curb inflation and prevent the rise of mortgage abuses. He expressed some skepticism about a government bailout as a solution.

“I get the impression that the government is not ready to do anything that is really beyond a short-term basis,” said Nash, a senior research mathematician at Princeton. “[But] we need a natural stability of value.”

You can read the full article here.

Panama attorneys Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia advised a company in securing a license granted by the Panamanian government to operate a remittance agent.

Panama City, Panama, November 12, 2008 –(PR.com)– Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia (www.laglex.com) attorneys advised a U.S.-owned subsidiary, in the process of obtaining a remittance agent license from the Directorate of Financial Enterprises of the Panama Ministry of Commerce and Industries (www.mici.gob.pa).

Although Panama hosts a financial center which has no limits on the repatriation of funds and use of foreign currencies, its government has enacted Law 48 of 2003 which requires that non-bank companies receiving funds on a regular basis for their remittance abroad through systems for transfer or transmission of funds, settlement of funds or any other means, obtain a special license from the Directorate. This ensures that operators receiving funds for electronic transactions systems have information on their ownership, financial solvency and anti-money laundering measures subject to regular review and supervision by a government authority. The Directorate also provides special licenses for lending companies.

The participation of the law firm consisted in the filing, preparation and coordination of the process for obtaining the license to operate a remittance agent. The clients of the law firm are dedicated to offering innovative solutions, payment methods and transactional processing environments for financial entities, banking, government, merchants and consumers. The license holder also markets a variety of solutions oriented to the transactional processing and electronic payment methods environments applied to several technological platforms and markets, for local as well as regional use.

According to statistics of the Directorate of Financial Enterprises, Panama received US$81.4 million in remittances (largely US$46.8 million from the US) during the first half of 2007. US$66.3 million are sent to other countries (mostly US$26.3 million to Colombia by migrants of said country). Already a dozen companies are authorized by the DEF to provide remittance services.

About Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia
Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia was created as an alternative for clients worldwide who seek fast, innovative and effective solutions to their legal problems. The firm currently provides services to individual and corporate clients in Panama as well in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its partners maintain a commitment with professional ethics and social responsibility by participating in the board of directors of groups such as the Panama Bar Association, the German and the American Chambers of Commerce (AMCHAM) of Panama, and the Association of Chinese-Panamanian Professionals (APROCHIPA).

The firm centers its law practice in private client services and asset protection (Private Interest Foundations, Trusts), business structures (Offshore Corporations), tax planning, real estate and e-commerce. It also advices in areas of Law such as Corporate, Commercial, Intellectual Property, Maritime, Tax, and Immigration Law as well as related litigation that may arise.

For more information, contact +507 340-6444, e-mail aaguilar (at) nysbar.com, or see: Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia http://www.laglex.com/

Features Q&A with Dr. Douglas Jackson on the changes to e-gold and also the new Agent requirements.

Click on cover and a new window will open to read the flash version. When you get the larger screen if your page is blurry, wait a few seconds it will focus page is loading.

Would you like to leave a message of goodwill for Dr. Jackson?

In this exciting new issue you will find an article contributed by Sidd, co-creator of Pecunix, a great piece from Paul Rosenberg of VeraVerba.com and this month we are very pleased to have Claire Wolfe on board with a brilliant story entitled “On Golden Island”. I’d like to say ‘Thank You’ to all of the people who took time to contribute this month.

Also don’t forget DGC Magazine is a Media Sponsor of MMT 08 ( http://www.mobile-money-transfer.com ) Conference and Expo coming up at the Crowne Plaza, Dubai this November 10-11th. MMT 08 is the world’s first independent global MMT conference. If you are looking to expand your business and put MMT to work for your organization, we invite you to attend this event. mWallet vendors from around the globe will be there in person. For more information please visit their web site.

This have been a tough time month for fiat currency as America slides into depression. Wealthy investors around the globe are buying up gold bullion, coins and money is rapidly flowing into Gold ETS’s. The use of Digital Gold Currency is now on the rise. For more information check out my article in this month’s issue entitled “Top Shelf Digital Gold”.

]]> http://www.dgcmagazine.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/04/dgc-magazine-october-issue-now-available/feed/ 2 http://www.dgcmagazine.com/blog/index.php/2008/09/30/e-gold%c2%ae-engages-kpmg-to-assist-e-gold-in-its-development-of-aml-program-improvement/ http://www.dgcmagazine.com/blog/index.php/2008/09/30/e-gold%c2%ae-engages-kpmg-to-assist-e-gold-in-its-development-of-aml-program-improvement/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:34:01 +0000 Mark http://www.dgcmagazine.com/blog/?p=355 Hot off the wire, e-gold’s plan for growth takes shape:

Melbourne, FL (PRWEB) September 30, 2008 — e-gold Ltd. announced today that it has retained KPMG LLP to assist e-gold Ltd. with the development of an improved Anti-Money Laundering Program. KPMG’s Advisory Services practice brings significant industry knowledge and experience that will greatly benefit e-gold Ltd., e-gold Ltd. announced.

Dr. Douglas Jackson, e-gold Ltd. Chairman, said, “e-gold Ltd. is seeking to have one of the market’s most effective Anti-Money Laundering Programs.” Dr. Jackson said e-gold Ltd.’s goal is to implement significant enhancements to its Anti-Money Laundering Program in the next 30-60 days.

e-gold Ltd. is seeking to have one of the market’s most effective Anti-Money Laundering Programs.

About e-gold:
e-gold is an electronic currency, 100% backed by physical gold in allocated storage, that empowers people to use gold as money. e-gold is integrated into a secure account-based payment system, operating globally 24/7, featuring instantaneous payment settlement with no charge back risk, at lower cost. Shopping cart, automation, and mobile phone interfaces are available. Operational since 1996, e-gold has settled over 90M transactions, serves customers in 165 countries, and has a circulation of over 2.2 metric tons of e-gold.

For information contact Bill Cunningham, US 1-321-956-1200 ext 127
Or visit www.e-gold.com.