Choosing Alternative Payment Processors

In the wake of the recent problems with Stormpay, many people have become disillusioned with online payment processors. People WANT to be able to transfer money online without having to worry about the stability of the processor. For those who participate in the GPT and Autosurf Industry, this has always been a concern.

This is not the first time we have seen problems with payment processors. In August 2005, Paypal began suspending various PTRs and similar sites, for apparent breaches of TOS. Some of the reasons given, include forbidden content (adult, casino, prescription drugs), MLMs/pyramid schemes and fraudulent transactions.

Many PTRs used to offer multiple levels of referral earnings, but this was misconstrued as MLM, which Paypal strictly forbids, in order to stay on the good side of the US legal system. Many PTRs have since stopped offering multiple levels of earnings, changing it to a single level referral system. In addition, it is not uncommon to see PTRs stating:

"___ is not a MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) website nor matrix or network marketing. Members of ___ do not have any goods to sell. ___ is not dependant on members referring new members, membership of ___ is totally free. ___ does not offer commission to recruit new members."

Paypal has had numerous complaints & lawsuits filed against them in the past, due to their policy of freezing accounts when fraud is suspected. Unfreezing of the accounts can still take months (up to half a year apparently). Nevertheless, Paypal is STILL the preferred means of online transactions for most PTRs, simply because it's so easy to fund & use. Some PTRs sell advertising on their site via eBay, so Paypal is especially useful. Paypal has been around since 1998.

Most autosurfs and HYIPs avoid Paypal, although there are a select few that still use it. The preferred online processor for these programs was e-gold. e-gold's popularity stemmed from the fact that it provided anonymity for its users. Chargebacks are not possible with the system, and there are relatively low transaction fees. The main drawback was the complicated means of funding via third party exchangers. e-gold has been operating since 1996.

In December 2005, e-gold suffered a serious drawback, with their servers apparently under DDOS attacks, and the FBI 'raiding' their US offices. This was followed by an article in BusinessWeek that criticised e-gold for being the preferred online processor for illegal transactions. The speculations were eventually put to rest, with e-gold's Chairman releasing a statement, but the damage was done. Various autosurfs and HYIPs shifted towards Stormpay - most noticeably, 12DailyPro.

All seemed fine for a while, but it wouldn't last very long. A major online ponzi known as Profits4InvestingToo began operating, offering both e-gold and Stormpay funding options (although you couldn't transfer earnings between the two processors). It grew like wildfire, and lasted for over a month, before dying out. As can be expected, Stormpay was hit by numerous chargeback attempts, as investors sought to regain their funds. This probably contributed somewhat to the current Stormpay/12DailyPro problems, since it made StormPay realise the risky nature of online programs.

Stormpay's TOS changes affect all commission based programs, ranging from PTRs & autosurfs, to HYIPs & MLMs. It seems almost like corporate suicide, considering the huge amounts of transaction fees that they are losing daily as a result. But, perhaps it is just an exit strategy deployed by Stormpay, if you believe the conspiracy theories.

In any case, Stormpay's problems has led to a deluge of alternative payment processors, some of which I have never even heard of until this week. So far, Alertpay and Uniclear appear to be the forerunners in the race for replacement killers processors, although many are returning to e-gold and EMO.


Alertpay.com is a payment processor based in Canada, and an approved member of the BBB. Its fees are comparable with Paypal, and they accept autosurfs & HYIPs (but you will have to sign up for their Secure Account, which has slightly higher fees). However, it is probably too easy to say whether it will make an impact on the GPT world. Many people feel that it may be just another Stormpay clone, with potential legal ramifications in future. Alertpay has been in business since 2004.


Uniclear.com is a another payment processor, offering debit card facilities, e-gold funding and low transaction fees. However, there have been recent complaints about customer support and slow debit card loading. There is a review on No BS HYIP Blog Community concerning Uniclear's debit card if you're interested.


Other Online Processors

Moneybookers is a UK-based money transmitter, with over 1.5 million users worldwide. However, it no longer supports autosurf sites, and Paid-To-Read (PTR) sites are also no longer acceptable. This is quite a shame, since the transfer fees are still one of the lowest in the business (most of their earnings come from customers withdrawing money from the site). See Moneybookers' fee structure.

Moneybookers is still used by various online casinos. I am not affiliated with the following gambling related sites, so do your homework if you intend to sign up.
http://moneybookers.blog.com/
http://moneybookers.freespaces.com/

There have been MoneyBookers horror stories though...
http://www.chipple.net/mt/2005/02/19_001818.php


e-Bullion is similar to e-gold, in the sense that it is backed by gold reserves. There are NO transaction fees. Instead of transaction fees, e-Bullion charges a monthly service fee of 1/3 gram of gold (compare this to e-gold's 1% yearly account maintenance fee, and 1/20 gram max. transaction fee). e-Bullion does become more cost effective than e-gold when there are multiple transactions exceeding approx. USD 600 a month (based on current gold prices). e-Bullion is registered in Panama and its primary servers are based in Switzerland. e-Bullion has been in business since July 2001. A growing number of sites now accept e-Bullion.


Other gold-based currencies include Goldmoney, Pecunix, 1MDC, e-dinar, Crowne Gold and Virtual Gold. Goldmoney currently has more gold reserves than any other gold-based competitor, but its strict verification process may limit its use in the GPT and Autosurf business. Their TOS expressly forbids pyramid & ponzi schemes. Considering the ambiguity over autosurf sites, Goldmoney does not appear to be suitable.


EMO (EMOCorp) is another payment processor, that specialises in electronic money orders (EMO). EMO allows funding to and from e-bullion and e-gold. There are no transaction fees involved with EMO payments.EMO is based in the USA and has been in business since 1999. EMOCorp is also a member of the BBB.


Asianpay is based in Thailand and geared towards providing online payment services in Asian countries. There are various funding options, including other payment processors (this may be a cause for concern, since some processors forbid any form of exchanges). Asianpay has been in business since June 2005.


GPT-Pal was created in September 2005, soon after Paypal began suspending various PTR accounts. Currently, only 22 PTRs use this processor, but hopefully, it will become more popular over time. The site forbids credit card chargebacks, and has a $20 fine for any such attempts.


There is currently a separate payment processor being developed by the autosurf industry. It is still uncertain when this system will become operational.


It is unfortunate that the GPT industry is sometimes painted in such bad light. PTRs and Traffic Exchanges offer a low cost alternative to promoting websites. Rather than going through traditional methods of promotion, advertisers can test the waters for their products, without having to spend big bucks. Autosurfs generate traffic as well, although many would argue that the quality of traffic is much lower than other means of advertising.


The good news, is that most of these payment processors are FREE to join. Some sites are better depending on your geographical location, while others may be better for a particular transaction profile. Be sure to do your own research before trusting any money to a payment processor.


Related links:
SBBS - Braced for Impact: Funding Alternatives
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-gold
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Bullion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_gold_currency
http://www.gold-pages.net/
http://indomitus.net/2004status.html
No BS HYIP Blog
Neteller
Guide to Payment Processors