One money, two money, three money - WebMoney…

 Money is a fact of life, it has always been. Besides the laws of physics and the doctrines of spirituality, money is what makes the world spin. The use of proto-money may date back to at least 100,000 years ago. And if you think carrying change in your pocket can be a bother, imagine dragging around strings of beads made of the clam shells. Thankfully the evolution of payment systems downsized monetary units to much lighter equivalents such as plastic cards, bills and checks. Caves, graves, safes; hats, stockings, jacket pockets; freezers, cat boxed litters, household cleaners! Oh, all of those places our money has been hiding in from thieves throughout the years! But thanks to revolution in communication technology and the explosion of internet it doesn't have to be this way anymore. You can actually own a wallet that is lighter than a feather - an electronic wallet!

Despite the fact that people still like the crispy feel of cash in hand, paper money is becoming a thing of the past. Most money in today's world is electronic a.k.a. digital. Electronic money is represented by a system of debits and credits used to exchange value, within itself as a stand alone system or within another system, as well as funds transfers. A number of electronic payment systems emerged over the past decade; some of them took a stronger position than the others, some of them showed a faster growth within the country of origin, some of them went global. A great example of that is an electronic money and online payment system called WebMoney which followed all three development strands.

WM Transfer Ltd, the owner and administrator of WebMoney Transfer Online Payment System, was founded in 1998 as a legal corporate entity of Belize, Central America. Initially targeted mainly at Russian clients, it is now used world-wide. According to WebMoney personal statistics by the end of August 2007 the company registered its 4th million user, showing an amazing growth curve of new registrations (in mil.) by years:

Those who are friends with graphs can easily see from the one below that on the average 4 thousand new members create their accounts with WebMoney daily: 

"When it's a question of money, everybody is of the same religion" (Voltaire)

With its 8 levels of security, WebMoney was named the most reliable payment system in Russia. The study was conducted in 2006 by "Step by Step" marketing agency which analyzed 5 leading Russian electronic payment systems. WebMoney was given a generous credit for its security scripts, multilevel user authentification, existence of black-lists, etc.  With its growing reputation WebMoney has reached 5280 municipalities in 52 countries over 5 continents. And originally from Central America, WebMoney is confidently marching back to the Americas. Having a small number of users in Ecuador, Panama, Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, it shows a greater and more aggressive growth in the North America. According to WebMoney statistics the USA accounts for 557 certified users. Canada is just a couple of steps behind. These WebMoney system statistics are always available for viewing on their web site in real time.

557 certified users - that doesn't seem like a lot. But when you look at who those users are, the picture that looked pale at first becomes a mosaic. In the United States a good number of WebMoney users are small businesses targeting European markets. Due to the fact that WebMoney has grown its popularity and earned significant trust in Europe and Russia, this electronic payment and funds transfer system was a sure choice for it significantly simplifies trade operations between two continents. American entrepreneurs and professional agencies such as gems traders, photographers, health product distributors, small loan agencies, employment services, on-line auction facilitators, auto traders, e-gold traders and others are choosing to work with WebMoney for its ability to instantly convert cash directly into digital money. That surely backs up WebMoney's statement that their system "...has become more than a local payment solution for internet merchandisers and service providers. It is a convenient medium for transactions, long-term business relationships, and your "automated" business allowing you to produce and sell, offer services and pay suppliers, contractors and personnel - all on the Web."

In the pursuit of reaching more customers worldwide WebMoney is on a mission of continuous growth and development. In the second quarter of 2007 the company launched a new version of Keeper Classic 3.5.0.4 with improved security features and more user friendly interface. This ‘WM Keeper' software provides users direct digital money access and allows users to manage their accounts from anywhere in the world. It also offers a unique software client for its account holders with built-in features like secure messaging and internet phone.  WM Keeper Mobile is a new GSM Keeper version for smart-phones, portable mobile devices and PDAs. It has been recently updated and now permits a full access to WM purses from individual mobile devices.

On July 20, 2007 Webmoney Transfer has launched its own digital gold currency purse. These new digital units are backed by gold bullion reserves. Since its inception Webmoney Gold market is growing at a rapid rate triggering a direct competition with other DGC industry regulars such as Pecunix, e-Bullion and e-gold.

Although WebMoney's success on the North American continent is well worked for and well deserved, it also should be partially credited to the problems that were encountered by such electronic giants as PayPal and e-gold through log-in difficulties, hacked or frozen accounts, phishing, funds uploading failures and security issues. Learning from its own mistakes and those of others, WebMoney has been working extra hard on improving its services and enhancing electronic money market experience for its international users. In 2007 WebMoney undertook some great endeavors which will surely shorten its voyage into the vaster global success.

Marianna, reporter of Ecommerce Journal