StrictPay, let’s strictly look at it (part 1)

[img_assist|nid=11042|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=92|height=100]Focusing on all the electronic payment systems in the world our journal however is first of all seeking to cover the newest events and developments in digital money sector. There is a comparatively young payment service on the Internet that attracted our attention. As long as the name of the processor suggests it to be a serious and respectable business we couldn’t help passing it over with silence. We decided to take a look at it.

A look into the history

The history of the origin narrated on the company website is rather simple and mediocre. Several persons dreamed about creating their own reliable and profitable business in the virtual space. As they say ‘the owners of StrictPay have been interested in starting up an e-currency website for a few years, and after a lot of research they decided to make it a reality’.

Hackney it may be but the company is unsurprisingly registered in Panama. However there ARE some moments that make[img_assist|nid=11044|title=|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=462|height=640] this very fact a little bit original as compared with other payment processing platforms. I think explanations on the legislative peculiarities existing in the Republic of Panama will be redundant here. StrictPay is owned and operated by MJC Ventures Inc. located to the address: Calle 47 y Avenida Aquilino de la Guardia, Edif Ocean Business Plaza, Piso 15, Panama, Rep de Panama. For those looking for material evidence the company posted a photocopy of the Certificate of Good Standing and the Financial Services Operation Notice on the site. Everyone can see it with his/her own eyes.

Well, what’s different about StrictPay’s Panama story? I would like to underline that Panama is not just the country where StrictPay registered its activity, it keeps the offices and all deposited funds housed in Panama. Thus I have valid grounds to name it a Panama-based company. The second fact is that the owners of StrictPay are from Panama.

Currently the company has more than 20 employees in the staff including James Phelan and Mike Gordon as the executives. There are several departments at StrictPay such as Support, Live Chat, Funding, Verification, Programming, and Security.

Here are some figures provided by the independent services like whois, alexa and websiteoutlook. Whois states that the site title has 40% relevance while the site meta description is 51% relevant. The SEO score is 69%. The site is hosted in the United States and the major part of users are also from there.

A look at the product

The outer interface is rather simple and ordinary. There are no striking effects or figures exquisitely created by the designers. Main colors prevalent in the appearance are blue. All typical functions are presented in the similarly typical buttons and links.

[img_assist|nid=11046|title=|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=640|height=464]
In the upper browser bar we can notice the lock icon illustrating the SSL protocol certification which means that all the information you provide during transactions is secured. But the SSL certificate is not the only protection instrument accepted by StrictPay. The company introduced a special verification procedure that eliminates almost any possible fraudulent operations with the accounts in the system.
[img_assist|nid=11047|title=|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=640|height=292]
Every member that wishes to open a StrictPay account must complete the verification procedure which includes sending a completed form with documents proving his/her identification such as copies of his/her passport and utility bills. Such compulsory verification of all accounts is made in compliance with Panamanian laws and regulations. Thus the verification process helps to achieve two main objects: to thwart the entrance of scammers who prefer hiding their true identity and thus to ensure that the investment programs accepting StrictPay are real and legitimate.

What is very convenient with StrictPay is funding options available for new and existing users. Thus, we can top up our future account (as the detailed account features we are going to discuss in our next post) via LibertyReserve, SolidTrustPay and Virtual Money. Actually there are six funding options provided by StrictPay. The rest include ACH transfer, Bank wire and Quick ACH transfer. Soon the company plans to introduce such methods as Cashier Checks and Money Orders.

If a users chooses to fund his/her account with LibertyReserve the transaction fee will amount 2.5%. the account will be credited within 24 to 72 hours. Funding via SolidTrustPay t will cost you 2.5% + $1.25 for every transaction. These transfers are usually verified in 12-24 hours.

The funds transferred via Virtual Money account are verified and credited usually within 24-48 hours, and the fee is 4.00% + $3.00. Rather expensive, but as the administration claims the option was introduced on numerous members’ requests.

[img_assist|nid=11048|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=404]As for withdrawals the list is shorter. There are only 4 options available. So, you can withdraw your money using ACH transfer, Bank wire, Check by Mail and StrictPay Visa debit card. The StrictPay Visa debit card is the most convenient way to access your funds. Funds are loaded to cards every afternoon, Monday through Friday, and are available as soon as they are credited by the card provider. Typically if a request is made in the morning of a weekday, the funds are available within a few hours. The fee to withdraw funds to your StrictPay Visa debit card is 2.00% + $3.00.

Yet the fees related to the card usage were found high by some customers. Monthly fee is $4.95, ATM withdrawal across the USA is $1.00 while international ATM withdrawal will cost you $3.00.

To be continued…