Browsing Category: "payment processor"
Strictpay show how an update should be done…
One of the recurring themes that investors have about virtually all programmes is the poor communication that pervades them.
At last at least one company has set a standard that others should follow. Now I’m not saying that Strictpay has always been a shining beacon in the murky world of programme communications but I do think is that the latest update provides clear answers and reasons as to why the problems they are facing occurred and what they are trying to do about it.
In summary, Strictpay has suffered over the last few months with both deposits and withdrawals where banks were involved. Complications explained in the update show that not everyone in the banking world are fans of companies like Strictpay.
Whilst I don’t think that the company is wholly out of the woods as yet the fact that they are acknowledging the problems is a very positive step in providing transparent communication with its members.
Let’s hope that other companies take to heart the lead being taken by Strictpay and follow suit.
Why Bank Wires may prove to be a good option…
With any Online Investment the ability to deposit or withdraw funds quickly is crucial. Historically bank wires were expensive and took a long time to complete. Has technology changed all that?
When I first started online investing I was adamant that I wouldn’t use Bank Wires as I felt they were too expensive and too slow. So, for most of my programmes I have used the various payment processors that have been set up to facilitate these types of transaction.
However, even this option has not been that trouble free as some services have failed at crucial times. Also, more of them are introducing charges to receive funds which means you have to think carefully about the sum to deposit to ensure you cover the cost.
Of course it is easy to generalise and say that none of them provide an efficient and economical service which would be the wrong thing to do. Some provide excellent customer service and are very efficient but you still have to weigh that against the extra steps needed to get funds from and to your personal account.
Recently I’ve had cause to step back and think about whether I should reconsider bank wires as my main vehicle for deposits and withdrawals. Two online programmes that I’ve had investments with have reported problems with specific payment processors which clearly creates concern when moving funds.
So, when I wanted to make a deposit to another programme I went back to my bank and initiated a bank wire. Doing this directly with a customer service representative made the whole operation very easy. Yes, it did cost me to do this but at the end of the day I know I will recoup these costs pretty quickly with the returns I get. So, for this transaction it was a good choice.
Clearly this wouldn’t work with small amounts and I’d suggest that $500 would be the minimum you’d want to contemplate when considering a bank wire but at least you know that it will get to where it’s going and given the new electronic banking systems it can be there pretty quickly as well.
It’s always worth keeping an open mind on any decision you make. Time and Technology may well create an environment where your original decision needs to be modified.
SwapGold provides a reliable and fast service…
Recently I had to carry out an ecurrency transaction between two payment processors. Never having done this before I was a little wary about the best way to do it. There are many horror stories where people have been duped of their money and I didn’t want to be another of those statistics.
Doing some research I came across SwapGold and decided to see if their service was as good as the reports I’d read. As you don’t need to sign up it makes it very quick and simple to carry out a transaction. You just need to specify the to and from payment processors and the amount to transfer (in USD or EUR).
Given that there are quite a number of payment processors in existence the site is set up to allow quick access to the most popular ones. If you find a payment processor that may be new or not already listed at SwapGold you can contact the site and they will provide details of how they could complete the transaction.
SwapGold are based in Singapore and the service is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year so if you encounter problems then you should be able to receive help quickly.
I did my transaction on a weekend and when I’d completed the details the response I received was that it would be completed within 3 hours. After the 3 hours had passed and the transfer hadn’t taken place I went back to the SwapGold site and noticed that the message had changed to say that it would be completed within 24 hours.
I’m not sure why there was a change, perhaps it was because I was doing this over weekend but you should just take note if you are doing an urgent transfer. I’m still happy with 24 hours though and in fact it was completed well within this time.
Overall my experience with SwapGold was very positive and I’m sure that it will be a service I use in the future.
Why it’s important to have more than one payment processor account…
Back in the days when online investing was in its infancy newcomers found it difficult to understand just how you transferred funds from your bank account to a new investment programme. Normal methods weren’t feasible and e-currencies were a new concept that many found confusing.
As time has gone by knowledge and experience have made things clearer and now the majority of people are comfortable in using what are now more commonly known as online payment processors. These organisations act as an intermediary financial payment system helping you to deposit and withdraw funds.
As payment processors are virtual organisations opportunities were created for the less honest to profit by embezzling funds from their members. Even if criminal activities were not necessarily involved regulatory problems meant that some processors just couldn’t survive.
So, online investors not only have to deal with programmes that fail but they also have to be wary of the payment processors they use. Whilst things have progressed in the last few years and there is more transparency you will often see reports regarding payment processors and the problems they have to deal with.
Currently one of the most popular processors, Solid Trust Pay, has been subjected to a series of problem reports and it is not clear whether this is just an operational problem or whether there are more serious issues to resolve.
This example emphasises the need to open accounts with a number of payment processors as this will provide some mitigation if problems arise. However, it should not be forgotten that some programmes will only allow you to withdraw funds to the processor that you made the deposit with. If this is the case then you still have a potential problem. In an effort to address this problem some programmes are offering the ability to transfer funds internally from one processor to another. Assuming this doesn’t contravene any regulations then this option, if available, may be worth considering when selecting an investment.
There is little chance that the need for payment processors will ever disappear so it is important that you set things up correctly in the first instance and open a number of accounts that will provide a good degree of flexibility.
I have accounts with AlertPay, StrictPay, Liberty Reserve and Global Digitial Pay. So far I’ve not had any real problems with any of these companies and they do represent payment processors that are accepted by virtually all online programmes.
Hey buddy could you spare a dime…or a euro…or a yen…
Recently I had cause to curse the workings of the great financial giants that astride the currency markets. Now I’m not suggesting that I fell foul of currency crooks for millions but in it’s own way I was frustrated by the money system.
I wanted to make an investment in a particular programme that traded in Euro’s. As my home currency is the British Pound it seemed fairly straightforward. All I had to do was send my GBP to a payment processor, use their services to convert to Euro and make the investment. Unfortunately things didn’t work out quite like that.
There was no problem sending the funds from my own account to the payment processor. Next was the conversion to Euro’s. Cringing at the less than favourable exchange rate I was presented with I nevertheless pressed the submit button and hey presto my original GBP miraculously turned into Euro’s.
Then I made the payment to the online programme. All sounds pretty simple really and there is where things went wrong. When I logged in to the online investment plan I realised that the amount of Euro’s I was expecting wasn’t in the account.
As I’d done a similar transaction in the previous week I wasn’t expecting any problems so this was something of a shock. I submitted a support ticket to the online investment group and asked why the funds I had invested weren’t as I’d expected. I was anticipating a reply to say that a mistake had been made and that my full amount would be credited.
What I got was a reply to say that they had invested the sum they had received from the payment processor. Yet I knew that the sum I’d converted was higher than I was seeing on the screen. Doing a little more research I discovered that the online investment programmes’ account with the payment processor was designated in US$.
So, I’d converted GBP to Euro’s in the belief that when I paid the investment account it would transfer the whole amount of Euro’s. That’s where my assumption went awry. What happened in practice was that when my account had been converted into Euro’s the processor then converted the Euro’s to US$ so that they could be applied to the investment company account. These US$ then had to be re-converted to Euro’s to be placed with the investment programme. The result of all this was a cost I wasn’t expecting!
Moral of the story is to check just what machinations your funds have to go through to get from your account to its final destination.
Vela Exchange saves me a lot of hassle…
When London Gold Exchange developed the new Global Digital Pay e-currency it upset Liberty Reserve to the extent that is no longer possible to buy or sell Liberty Reserve via London Gold Exchange.
For me that created something of a headache as I had gladly used London Gold Exchange to buy and sell Liberty Reserve for several years. The service was fast and efficient and as I could make deposits directly from my UK bank account it saved several intermediary steps.
I thought I would have to resort to using bank wires to an e-currency exchanger who would then provide the Liberty Reserve I needed.
Bank wires are effective but they can cost quite a bit especially if intermediary banks are involved and there is generally a time penalty involved whilst the system grinds its way through.
I decided that pain of bank wires was a bit much to bear so undertook to do some more investigation to see if anyone else was out there who could provide the same service as London Gold Exchange.
What I found was Vela Exchange. Here I could transfer funds directly from my UK bank account, obtain Liberty Reserve all at a reasonable fee. So it seems that once again I can rest easy knowing that my fund transfers will be quick and easy.
The Vela Exchange website is pretty basic and opening an account is very straightforward. You use an email address and password and you have to verify your details from an email sent to the named account. As with other processors you have to provide details of id and proof of address but this is pretty painless and they have live assist available if you run into problems. My account was setup within and hour and even though there was a problem with their online banking connection for a short while I transferred funds to my Liberty Reserve account very quickly, much faster than a bank wire would be.
So if you miss the convenience and efficiency of London Gold Exchange to buy and sell Liberty Reserve don’t despair as Vela Exchange is just as good (although the website is of a simpler design).
Global Digital Pay starts to build reputation…
When you invest online you will soon discover that moving money around can be time-consuming and complicated. Given the somewhat unusual nature of investments you are generally unable to make a deposit directly from a bank. And even if you are it can be very expensive with every party collecting a fee.
Since the very early days the need for middle men known as payment processors has created a somewhat more tolerable solution. Unfortunately not even these organisations have been immune from fraud or other illegal activity so it is increasingly important that when you open an account it is with a company you can trust.
Global Digital Pay is the latest company to enter the market and luckily for investors they have a very good pedigree. Based in Hong Kong this BVI registered company has links to the highly respected London Gold Exchange (LGE).
I’ve used LGE over a number of years and have always been extremely pleased with the service they provide. I can make deposits directly from my bank account and know that the funds will appear in my chosen processor immediately afterwards.
In a similar vein I’m sure that Global Digital Pay will be as successful and efficient. Joining is straightforward and like other similar financial institutions there is a verification process to go through which can all be done online.
There is some fairly stringent security measures in place and whilst this requires the odd extra step it does provide a greater degree of assurance that your transactions are secure.
There are a whole host of exchangers to use so it shouldn’t be difficult to fund your account. You can denote your account in US$, GBP and Euros.
All in all Global Digital Pay will become a very important part of the online investing community.
StrictPay earn kudos for speed of service…
Like many online investors I’m not a great fan of online payment processors, or more precisely the need for payment processors in the first place.
Problems with egold and ebullion have not helped investors to feel any sort of confidence in companies like this.
Unfortunately virtually all online programmes are forced to use payment processors so if we invest we have to use them. Over the weekend I decided to join StrictPay as it was reported they are a good reliable company.
The company is based in Panama where privacy laws are rigidly applied so this was another reason for joining. I was expecting the process to be complicated and time consuming so I was pleasantly surprised at what actually happened.
The StrictPay site looks somewhat basic but that shouldn’t put anyone off as the application process is pretty straightforward. Like all sites where money is to be managed there is a need to provide Know Your Customer (KYC) documents for verification purposes.
Probably the quickest way to do this is to use the online uploading facility on the site. If you live in the US you can make ACH payments via the Bank of America so there is a separate form to do that. For everyone else you should complete the standard verification form.
StrictPay require copy of ID, utility bill, bank statement and a voided cheque to be uploaded as well.
What really impressed me was that my account was verified within 4 hours of my documents being uploaded, and this was on a Sunday.
So, if you have a need for a new payment processor account then I can recommend StrictPay. They also have a debit card that allows you to withdraw from your account at ATM’s worldwide.
Problems with egold and ebullion have not helped investors to feel any sort of confidence in companies like this.
Unfortunately virtually all online programmes are forced to use payment processors so if we invest we have to use them. Over the weekend I decided to join StrictPay as it was reported they are a good reliable company.
The company is based in Panama where privacy laws are rigidly applied so this was another reason for joining. I was expecting the process to be complicated and time consuming so I was pleasantly surprised at what actually happened.
The StrictPay site looks somewhat basic but that shouldn’t put anyone off as the application process is pretty straightforward. Like all sites where money is to be managed there is a need to provide Know Your Customer (KYC) documents for verification purposes.
Probably the quickest way to do this is to use the online uploading facility on the site. If you live in the US you can make ACH payments via the Bank of America so there is a separate form to do that. For everyone else you should complete the standard verification form.
StrictPay require copy of ID, utility bill, bank statement and a voided cheque to be uploaded as well.
What really impressed me was that my account was verified within 4 hours of my documents being uploaded, and this was on a Sunday.
So, if you have a need for a new payment processor account then I can recommend StrictPay. They also have a debit card that allows you to withdraw from your account at ATM’s worldwide.
Global Connect Pension Plan announces closure date…
A new announcement from the Global Connect Pension Plan team has been published. It says that payments must be received by Monday 20 July otherwise money will be returned to the payment processor used.
Also, there is a cut-off date for receipt of signed agreements which is Monday 10 August. To be clear this only applies to the member agreement that needs to be downloaded from the site. The KYC documents will be handled by the representative bank so I assume that will follow up at a later date.
As a reminder policies cost $40 each and will provide a return of $72,000 for each. Currently you can get an additional policy for each two policies you purchase. Maximum number of policies per person is 6 (so you could end up with 9). In terms of age you need to be under 68 to be eligible.
So if Global Connect can enforce these deadlines it looks as though payments will start during the 4th quarter of 2009.
If you’d like to join Global Connect you will need to make a payment sooner rather than later. Payment can be made via Liberty Reserve or Perfect Money.
Also, there is a cut-off date for receipt of signed agreements which is Monday 10 August. To be clear this only applies to the member agreement that needs to be downloaded from the site. The KYC documents will be handled by the representative bank so I assume that will follow up at a later date.
As a reminder policies cost $40 each and will provide a return of $72,000 for each. Currently you can get an additional policy for each two policies you purchase. Maximum number of policies per person is 6 (so you could end up with 9). In terms of age you need to be under 68 to be eligible.
So if Global Connect can enforce these deadlines it looks as though payments will start during the 4th quarter of 2009.
If you’d like to join Global Connect you will need to make a payment sooner rather than later. Payment can be made via Liberty Reserve or Perfect Money.
London Gold Exchange service in overdrive…
One of the more frustrating things about online investing is the general need to make deposits via web based payment processors. Admittedly some programmes allow you to pay by bank wire but this can be expensive.
So, accepting that payment processors have to be used how do we get our funds to them. Personally I use London Gold Exchange and have done for several years. They are reliable and their delivery seems to speed up every time I use them.
For example, I needed to transfer funds to a payment processor account last week. I logged in to London Gold Exchange and set up a payment to my payment processor account. Then, I logged into my online bank account and arranged an electronic payment to London Gold Exchange. Next I emailed my payment details to LGE. In total it took me about 10 minutes to do all this.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive emails from both London Gold Exchange and my payment processor to confirm that the transaction had been completed within six hours of starting. Kudos here to both my bank and LGE for making this work so quickly and smoothly.
If you are thinking of venturing into the world of online investment then I’d highly recommend London Gold Exchange to be part of your portfolio.
If this post sounds somewhat biased then I’ll put my hand up to that but I feel that great service deserves to be acknowledged.
So, accepting that payment processors have to be used how do we get our funds to them. Personally I use London Gold Exchange and have done for several years. They are reliable and their delivery seems to speed up every time I use them.
For example, I needed to transfer funds to a payment processor account last week. I logged in to London Gold Exchange and set up a payment to my payment processor account. Then, I logged into my online bank account and arranged an electronic payment to London Gold Exchange. Next I emailed my payment details to LGE. In total it took me about 10 minutes to do all this.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive emails from both London Gold Exchange and my payment processor to confirm that the transaction had been completed within six hours of starting. Kudos here to both my bank and LGE for making this work so quickly and smoothly.
If you are thinking of venturing into the world of online investment then I’d highly recommend London Gold Exchange to be part of your portfolio.
If this post sounds somewhat biased then I’ll put my hand up to that but I feel that great service deserves to be acknowledged.
