Prepaid debit cards are a very popular method for digital money users to exchange their digital currency into green cash. In case you need cash right away, debit cards are cheap and handy to have around. Cards can be reloaded, so anyone can own one or two cards and continually use them to access the value in their digital currency accounts.

During the past 4-5 years, there have been many cards, many companies and many problems. The two biggest problems, were the changing laws in the US and the appearances of so many different small companies & cards.

First, the big changes in US law occurred with the passing of the Patriot Act. In the United States, prepaid debit cards or any financial product a terrorist could use to move money — became much more restrictive to issue and own.

Second, so many dozens of small companies were issuing prepaid debit cards with different names, rates & terms that no one company offered consistent service.

A new card issue may have been great when it first came out and then just a few months later disappeared along with your balance. Some companies started out doing sincere excellent business and the scammers drove them out of business with fraudulent or illegal deposits. Other operators closed because of inexperience or the authorities.

Several smaller companies just offered really bad options, no customer service, no email responses and the time from loading to having cash available on the card was anywhere between 1 hour and 1 week. It really was a ‘coin toss’ to see if you could find a new card about every few months. Some of the time it was not the operators fault, but we all know that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

In just the past several years, one financial institution had corrected both of these problems and just about about everyone using a digital currency debit card has some company’s branded version of their cards. (myself included) The company brands included:

• BestGoldCard
• IGEcard
• IMTcard
• Agronex jCard
• Bluebanking
• GoldtoCard
• ROBOXchange
• gCard
• Evergreen Cards
• and probably some more we just missed here…

Great Card & No Problems

North York Credit Union, the issuing institution, is located in Canada so their cards could be issued worldwide and were not regulated under any new rules. Canada is considered “offshore” in the US. Also, new cards offered a digital currency loading solution to resellers which integrated digital currency into the instant card loading process. In other words, the moment you sold your e-gold or other digital currency the balance (minus fees) would instantly appear on your ATM card. No more waiting!

The card company also incorporated ACH payments into their loading. If you are using any one of several particular card brands (each offers different services) you could receive payments from PayPal, Adwords and other ACH type online systems. These are very handy cards to have and this issue was like a real card miracle.

Later the BestGoldCard added icing to the cake, by integrating their cards directly into the 1MDC platform so all 1MDC users can load funds directly from their account or from any e-gold account. BestGoldCard also automatically accepts and exchanges Pecunix, so the issuance of their card really opened a floodgate of options for digital currency users. They quickly became a leader in the industry. Financial backing, experience, customer service, BGC has it all.

Additionally, ROBOXchange integrated Webmoney into their instant loading card.(well done) All of these companies provide good customer service and it seemed, for a few years at least, the debit card industry was shaping up. Well, as of yesterday, all of these North York Credit Union cards are dead.

Users must also understand, it is through no fault of the brand companies, this is just a case of very bad luck with the platform.

What does the future hold?

New cards of course. Knowing the history of a changing industry, experienced and well financed operators have been expecting ’some’ type of problems down the road and rest assured they already have replacement card plans in action. Rumor has it that BestGoldCard has been working for some months now on a backup card and IGEcard seems to be about 30 days away from a replacement. It is a sure bet that GoldtoCard and gCard also are working closely with issuers to remedy the problem. So stay tuned, it appears help is ‘in the cards’.

Let us hope there are will be more cards on the way in just a few weeks or sooner.

**Please note that there are NO problems with North York Credit Union, the hiccup came from an associated company by the name of CU-Connect and only the card platform was affected. This is the part of the card network which delivers the switching and transaction processing service through the Interac / Cirrus / Maestro networks for credit union. It absolutely — has nothing to do with North York Community Credit Union itself where the customer funds are held safe and sound.

http://digitalmoneyworld.com

Technorati Tags: debit cards, digital currency, prepaid debit cards, prepaid debit cards, offshore, IGEcard, Interac, Cirrus, Maestro

Del.icio.us Tags: debit cards, digital money, digital currency, Patriot Act, terrorist, digital currency debit card, North York Credit Union, e-gold, PayPal, BestGoldCard, GoldtoCard, gCard, Credit Union

This is the most recent letter from BlueBanking received about an hour ago, Thursday afternoon. They are closing down the operations of the debit card and loading of the card is already halted. No information yet if this will also close any other cards issued by North York Credit Union. The following cards are issued by North York Community Credit Union:

• BestGoldCard
• IMTcard
• Agronex jCard
• ROBOXchange
• gCard (web was unavailable Thursday night)
• Evergreen Cards (web was unavailable Thursday night)
• IGE Card

==================

Dear Cardholder,

We regret to inform you that all current card programs sponsored by CU-Connect and North York Community Credit Union (our issuing bank) are being wound down on a step-by-step basis. Unfortunately this includes all current Blue Banking Cards.

A copy of the Initial Order and other materials filed with respect to the CCAA proceeding is available on the website of KPMG Inc., the Court-appointed monitor of CU-Connect, at www.kpmg.ca/cu-connect .

The initial step is that as of 2:00 p.m. CET on January 4th, 2007, no new card activations and no new loads will be permitted. THIS INCLUDES ALL LOAD OPTIONS AND ALL CARD CARD-TO-CARD TRANSFERS. All loads received after this deadline will be returned to its remitter, cost of return will be charged to the remitter.

All cardholders will be able to process ATM withdrawals until a time period not defined yet (probably 30 days from today) and continue to access to their online banking at www.bluebanking.com.

If cardholders cannot fully withdraw their funds within the allotted time period, we will work to ensure that the issuing bank will return all balances directly to the cardholders.

Unfortunately we received this announcement from CardOne Plus (the banking platform) only today, and were not able to inform you before. We are surprised at the short notice, and are sorry for the inconvenience caused.

We are actively looking for a replacement solution and will notify all our clients when we have concluded one.

Regards,

Blue Banking.

=====================

Below is posted on their web site.

04-jan-2007 Dear Client,

The loading service has been suspended by the issuing bank North York Credit Union as CU Connect will stop its services.

Therefore, no loading will be possible anymore.

You will be able to withdraw your funds from your current cards for 30 days.

We are actively looking for a new supplier and will inform you when we have found a satisfactory replacement solution.

Sorry for the inconvenience but there is not much more we can do and thank you for your understanding.

For any questions, please use our CONTACT US form.

Blue Banking

Del.icio.us Tags: BlueBanking, North York Community Credit Union

WebMoney is a well known and popular online digital currency. WebMoney Transfer enables worldwide users to conduct secure online transactions in real time. The transactions are not reversible so there is no chargeback risk to merchants. The company has well over a million users at this time.

It is free to set up as many accounts as you like. Simply download their free software package and you can begin creating accounts and transacting business in WebMoney. The WM software and the web sites are available in both English and Russian. Online currency units are also available in Russian Roubles and USD. No ID is required to open an account.

If you take a close look at WebMoney, this currency provides a very useful online financial service for a large population of users who may not have bank accounts or credit cards. Using Webmoney these people are able to easily and locally convert cash into digital currency then pay bills online, shop or transfer funds to others worldwide at an extremely low fee. No bank account verification or transfers and no credit rating is required, just a quick cash conversion to digital currency.

WebMoney is a digital currency solution which, because of its users, heavily focuses on a particular geographic region. The retail services offers by the currency vendors are filling a great need. A similar situation can now be found in the United States as financial institutions scramble to create products for the massive population of Spanish speaking unbankable immigrants from Mexico, Centeral and South America. The SiGo MasterCard is a great example. There is a recent article in the NYTimes that further explains this point. Because the demand exists for a cash to digital exchange, companies in the US are now seeing this as a great opportunity to expand their client base. Financial companies are creating products like prepaid Mastercards and catering to non English speaking customers.

WebMoney Transfer has a verification system which any account holder can use. This system asks that the user provide basic identification and information about himself. That user is then ‘verified’ and known to other users. PayPal has a very similar policy, however, WebMoney does not require a user to become verified. A WebMoney account can be used instantly after opening. Each user has a WebMoney passport. This passport is a digital certificate based on personal data provided by a WebMoney member.

WebMoney is sold through an independent network of agents mainly located in Russia and the Ukraine. However, there are WebMoney agents to facilitate a currency exchange in over 2500 cities in 40 countries around the world including the US & Canada. Much like e-gold, these agents maintain a digital inventory of WebMoney which they can exchange to retail clients for cash, bank wires, Western Union and a long list of assorted other payment methods. Agents can set their own fees for each transaction and anyone can become an agent.

One of the most convenient features of WebMoney is the prepaid WM card. WebMoney is available on a prepaid card. Users can purchase these cards locally using cash, take them home and fund their account instantly. A network of vending machines in Russia also distributes these cards making WebMoney even more available and easy to purchase.

The important information to know about WebMoney is that the digital currency is very integrated into the everyday physical brick and mortar business, in that part of the world. Thanks to businesses like ROBOXchange, you can pay everyday bills and buy important items using WebMoney. Person’s living in Russia, Ukraine and the surrounding areas can pay their local phone bills, cell phone bills, digital TV bill, local Internet service provider and even purchase virtual gaming currency using WebMoney. The digital currency is integrated into local daily life due to the wide use of cash and lack of adequate banking or credit facilities.

Services such as ROBOX Cash Register, which is similar to Gold-Cart, are the equivaltant to a digital currency merchant account. These services allow an online seller’s web site to accept a variety of digital currency types from the customer at checkout and then automatically converts their payment into one currency which the seller has previously requested. Just like a merchant accepting Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, online checks, ACH, etc. and settlement is then made to the merchant - ROBOX Cash Register accepts over two dozen different currency types (mostly local to that region).

WebMoney is also easily converted into other digital currencies including e-gold, Pecunix, e-Bullion, Yandex, imoney, MoneyMail, INOCard, RuPay, InterBill RUR & UkrMoney (mostly local Russian money). The point here being….if you have Webmoney and you need to pay an online bill in another digital currency, there are many agents who will exchange your WM for the currency of your choice. The value of using WebMoney extends way beyond their network of WM retailers. As a digital currency, WebMoney can be easily converted into another digital currency anytime. This is simply not possible with PayPal or everyday online banking. There is an extensive network of reliable web sites that will even automatically convert WebMoney into another digital currency for a small fee. The transaction is instant and a majority of these webs are fully automated. It is a very convenient service.

The ‘terms of use’ allow WebMoney to be used at online casinos and sports books plus adult websites. Finally, WebMoney, unlike PayPal is never “hacked”. You will never get a WM phishing email. Since users must download the secure WM software and extensive security is used on both ends of the online transaction, WebMoney has a great reputation as a secure digital currency. There are also many ATM debit cards that accept WebMoney making it very liquid in just about any country around the globe.

Technorati Tags: ID, WebMoney, digital currency, financial, WebMoney Transfer, Russia, Ukraine, e-gold, PayPal

Del.icio.us Tags: WebMoney, Russian, financial, credit cards, digital currency, currency, Mastercards, PayPal, WM card, virtual gaming currency, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, online casinos, debit cards

This 120-page 2006 Buyer’s Guide to RFID Resources contains business profiles and vital product details on 160 solutions providers in the following 11 major market segments that define the multi-billion-dollar RFID solutions market:

• Tags and Interrogators (Readers)
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• Tags, Labels and Chips
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• Active and Real-Time Locating Systems
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The guide provides a profile of the leading vendors in each sector, based on objective journalistic research conducted by RFID Journal’s editorial staff. Each profile includes vital data on what the solutions provider brings to the segment of the RFID market it serves.

The write-up for each technology provider includes thee company’s address, Web site URL, phone and an email contact (if provided). It also includes the company’s primary products, the major applications they are used for and the regions in which the company does business.

The guide also includes four feature stories that offer practical advice to end users looking to purchase RFID hardware, software or services:

• 10 Questions to Ask RFID Vendors
• The Right Reader Strategy
• Middleware: The Land Between
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The 2006 Buyer’s Guide to RFID Resources is:

• A comprehensive product and solutions resource, organized by product vendor, to solve your critical RFID needs.
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Purchase your 2006 Buyer’s Guide to RFID Resources today to ensure you don’t miss out on this valuable resource.

http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/2054/1/1/

Technorati Tags: RFID

Del.icio.us Tags: RFID, Interrogators, Chips, Networking Equipment

Here is the complete article from : Wired.com

E-Gold Gets Tough on Crime

By Kim Zetter| Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Dec, 11, 2006

Around the time of the Shadowcrew bust, Jackson’s staff developed a method for doing global searches in e-gold transactions. So Jackson decided to see if he could find carders in his system by searching the “memo” field, where — like the memo line on a check — the sender can note the reason for the transaction. Jackson says some carders, apparently so convinced of their invisibility, don’t try to hide the nature of their activity.

He searched keywords from news articles about carders, such as “cvv,” “dumps” and “cob.” The first two terms refer to data encoded on the magnetic stripe of credit cards; the last one stands for “change of billing,” referring to credit card accounts for which a crook has changed the billing address to a mail drop under his control.

Jackson also searched the online nicknames of specific carders that law enforcement agents mentioned in news reports or at a cybercrime conference Jackson attended: names like Zoomer, Kayser Sose, Smash, Segvec, Jilsi, Ragoo and John Dillinger, a carder who described his crimes for Wired News earlier this year and who recently signed a plea agreement to cooperate with authorities.

Jackson says some culprits that authorities deemed “unfindable” were easy to track through e-gold. One appeared to be a high school kid in Louisville, Ohio, judging from information gleaned from his transactions. Jackson tracked two others to Egypt after one of them converted e-gold to cash and had an intermediary load it onto a debit card sent to him by courier.

Jackson identified a core group of accounts that appeared to involve carding, and made lists of accounts that exchanged e-gold with them. Patterns emerged. Beginning earlier this year, for example, one account-holder in New York purchased postal orders worth about $6,000 twice a month from three different post offices, exchanged them for e-gold and transferred the funds to an account-holder in the Ukraine. Altogether he purchased about 30 postal orders totaling more than $150,000.

In other accounts he found a $17,000 transaction supposedly “for beer” and $10,000 for Louis Vuitton purses. Over two weeks last February, one account-holder moved $29,000 worth of e-gold to purchase Sony Vaio computers, followed two days later by $30,000 for more Sony Vaios, and $40,000 four days after that. The recipient of the funds accumulated more than $900,000 in e-gold over a brief period of time, more than half of which remained parked in his account.

The timing of the transactions, last spring, corresponded with news articles reporting a serious wave of debit card breaches across the country that caused several banks to reissue compromised cards.

By matching other data, like time stamps, IP addresses and hashes of passwords, Jackson could sometimes identify when one person controlled or used different accounts. “The good ones will have a different IP address every time they touch the internet,” he says. “But every once in a while you get one of these bad guys on one of these accounts where … he may use a fixed IP.”

Jackson decided that law enforcement needed to know about what he’d found.

He’d received and complied with hundreds of subpoenas in the past — from FBI, Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Agency and international law enforcement agencies. But this time he had trouble finding someone to work with him. Since the Secret Service had already dismissed him, he approached the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, but got the runaround. Jackson said one agency wanted his company to sign an agreement stating he wouldn’t be immune from prosecution if authorities, in the process of obtaining information from him, found something that could incriminate e-gold.

He refused to sign, but began assisting postal inspectors and other agents voluntarily.

Jackson acknowledges some discomfort over the decision to give information to the feds without legal process — a move that could save e-gold from further law enforcement aggression, while tarnishing its libertarian sheen.