Well today’s the last day I’m blogging here as moneypenny, come to think of it, today’s Digitalmoneyworlds last post too.

From tomorrow I’ll be blogging on business, startups, money, online scams and a whole lot else. So come to the launch party and let me know what you think.

Its been great to monefy you and I look forward to your comments and debates on www.wisequeen.com

see you soon

Moneypenny

Who are we?
The London Gold Exchange is the World’s largest and most established trader of Digital Gold and Silver (also known as e-currency, Digital Currency or e-money). We are a reputable independent international business with offices in Europe and Asia/Pacific.

What do we do?
We are a licensed and accredited Digital Gold and Silver Exchange Provider (or Market Maker). Our service gives you a quick, easy and most importantly, safe method to get DG&S in or out of your account. We have years of e-commerce experience and pride ourselves on our superb customer service. View client testimonials

Why are we different?
We focus only on Digital Gold, Digital Silver and Digital Currency and can offer you an unrivalled experience. We supply c-gold, e-gold, e-Bullion, Pecunix, Web Money and Liberty Reserve. Our unique ‘Members Only’ secure web site is designed to be simple and easy to use. We have a proven track record for speed and reliability and our members return again and again.

Why use us?
Members benefit from our competitive rates and can easily (after verification) send funds to us via domestic Internet bank transfers, International bank wire to our multi-currency International bank, deposit cash or transfer money using Western Union and MoneyGram. We offer a simple, fast & efficient service.

We welcome International orders from all corners of the globe.

Follow our easy steps to Buy, Sell or Convert Digital Gold Currency.

This is but one example I found on the web of digital gold trading,

but I have questions like others have about digital gold. Let’s take e bullion as an example. I sat down with three leading financial advisors and they had these questions  and many others too. So don’t shoot me I’m only the piano player, Yes I’ve read the sites.

Let’s start with e bullion, It’s headquartered in Delaware that rings a bell, the associations are not good.

But maybe that isn’t an issue though.

Next question: what do some of these statements mean? This one for example.

Can I take delivery of e-Bullion^®?
Yes. You may take possession of your e-Bullion^® through the primary funding/withdrawal processor for e-Bullion^®.  Currently that is Goldfinger Coin and Bullion Inc.  There is a small fee involved for converting e-Bullion^® to physical delivery. This is known as a redemption premium and will vary according to the type and amount of metal you wish to redeem.

What does physical delivery mean? That if I want my gold bars you’ll drop them off or DHL them. I don’t think so.

My biggest question however is that my digital shares are not linked to the current market value of gold. Why?

Are ebullion trading gold? Sure they must be, but why use gold to back the digital funds if it has no relation to gold’s current market value on the commodities market.?

Every US dollar was once underwitten by gold in the days of “in gold we trust” now the dollar says “in God we trust”.So this is not a strange concept.

Why are e-Bullion^® services not offered in some areas?
Some states and jurisdictions may require the acquisition of a specialized business license under local law, in connection with some of the services we offer. Rather than bearing the administrative burden of meeting these multiple licensing requirements, we choose not to offer e-Bullion^® services in those areas.

944.09

That’s the current gold price listed on the Londongoldexchange site. I have one question, why link the actual price of real gold to digital gold? Does the investor take delivery of real gold, or shares in real gold or silver held in a vault? This is the question I and other financial brokers have about trading in e gold and others. And what is a market maker? Perhaps Benson or Mark over at DGC who have traded in digital gold, can educate us better.

Have a comment?  want to answer some of these questions from our readers. Please answer below.

Moneypenny

I blogged yesterday about the those that have written into me about a fake moneybookers scam.

http://www.bizzia.com/adding-value/

Adding value read this and comment on it if you have suggestions.

These people were scammed because they received an email identical to the moneybookers one and took it as the original, it was actually a faked page which looked identical.

Today I want to talk about online security with moneybookers, pay pal and others.

What should you expect to receive from them?

Rule number one

Any mail you get, first check the address it came from, that’s the first clue. Mark spam as spam and delete it out of your spam folder daily.

Rule number 2

Never click on a link, but rather type the address www.paypal.com or moneybookers.com straight into your browser window. Then you can’t be misdirected. Check the page you are logging into it should look right, dont rush. Never update your details on a form you’re not certain about. These scams continue because people fail to to do this, they know they will catch someone.

Rule number 3

If you don’t have a bank account with that bank or payment company, don’t open the mail. You don’t get an account by accident.

Follow these simple rules everytime and scams will suffer, not you.

Care to comment? share this with everyone you know.

Be safe online, Moneypenny

This is a kind of unofficial poll to find out which online payment company is rated best.

These are the criteria:

1. ease of use, functionality and options.

2. service level, charges/cost and market share.

3. security, support and reliability.

4. ethical, regulated and financially sound company.

So which online payment company does these best for you.

Leave a comment and tell us your experience for the benefit of our readers.

Moneypenny

I remember as an investment broker not so long ago, my clients and peers talking about ethical investments. Exercising your ethical choice in investments was becoming mainstream and even clients were talking about it.

Contrast this with the Elliot Spitzer case recently. He didn’t seem to care that prostitution and the crimes always linked with it, where being funded by him. He possibly said - I’m O.k. I’m not hurting anyone.

The IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division then started a probe, initially fearing that Spitzer was the victim of either extortion or identity theft.

Screenshot of the website of Emperors Club VIP showing list of prices for escort services

Image from wiki

North Fork’s report in July 2007 went largely unnoticed until HSBC in the fall filed a report that the transactions were going to QAT International and QAT Consulting Group, which were offshore shell companies operating as a front for the Emperors Club.

Later the IRS contacted the FBI to investigate possible political corruption. The investigation led Federal authorities to link the money transfers to the Emperors Club.

On November 19, 2007, Republican operative Roger Stone sent a letter to the FBI saying that Spitzer “used the service of high-priced call girls” while in Florida.

Spitzer announced on March 12 that he would resign his post as Governor effective March 17, amid threats of his impeachment by state lawmakers.

So what’s happened to the ethics questions we used to ask, like: Was the company involved in mining practices that affected the environment? Did that company operate sweatshops in cheap-labour countries. Was the company involved in money laundering, pornography, tobacco, alcohol etc?

Whilst some of this talk and campaigning has been replaced by the fair trade movement, which when it works, I do applaud, what has happened to our own ethics?

Do we care how that money we got out of an investment was made?

Did it involve a pyramid scheme or scams where someone was robbed of their hard earned money, or was the money got from trading in guns, drugs or people trafficking? These are the questions banks have to ask in the bigger picture, and perhaps we should be asking them too in the smaller picture of our choices.

What do you think? Who does your research about where to put your money or what to invest in?

Does it matter to you what the e company/gold company/ web money/ company you use invests in or derives its profits from? Give us your view under comments

Moneypenny

Should we be worried about the financial markets? Well I think so. When companies like Lehman Bros lose 50% of their share value for the first time in their very long history, and then start scrabling around trying to raise money on the stock exchange. When major banks are being bailed out by reserve banks. When many shares are in freefall due to the jittery markets, and when the price of oil is just on a drunken rampage full of its own importance and value. When world powers can’t find a workable alternative solution to the oil producing states having their foot on our necks. Yes I think it’s worrying.

This may be why some prefer holding gold, commodities and digital currencies hoping to hedge against the falling dollar value.

June 9, 2008

A warm wish to all those on b5media, and of course our readers, remembering the fallen on this Memorial Day 2008. May all those who served and are serving, be remembered. Here’s the link to participate http://www.nationalmemorialdayparade.com   Last week I wrote on web money http://www.bizzia.com/webmoney-online-payments/  and  it seems that every month, there’s a new way to pay on-line. Are these virtual companies using our money held-on-line to trade with? Are they using customers online funds to raise capital to trade with. Ask some finance wizzes or a group of investment bankers, and they will tell you that for the small benefit of giving customers an alternative to using credit cards on line, these payments companies get to hold real money on behalf of the customer, and trade with it? The gold-related payment setups must be doing this. The sites tell you that the gold value is not linked to the current price of gold, but you can bet your bottom dollar, that they care about the fluctuations in the price of the commodity.  A clever scheme, e bullion, and others, convince the public you can create a monetary system outside of the mainstream, and apart from the normal US dollar currency, and they will come. Those who  use them swear by the safety, legality. etc. But the facts behind the incorporation, the location in Delaware, the gold vault stores, all open up many a can of worms. What’s the point of basing the investment on gold, if the investment its not linked to the commodities value? These are the questions I, and others very trained in financial instruments, are asking? Maybe we can because we are not invested and can still see the woods for the trees, or maybe we have just missed something. But I smell a rat, a big rat. Mark Herpel wrote on these gold payment companies like e bullion, a lot, and now writes DGC mag http://www.dgcmagazine.com  So perhaps he would agree to answer some pertinent questions. Are you up for the challenge Mark? Moneypenny

The April issue of  DGC mag featured an article on the growth of the online payment company web money, and since we have been focusing on paypal, moneybookers and others this month, I thought it would be interesting to see how moneyweb shapes up, and what features they offer compared to the others, I covered in my last post.  Do you have a money web account? Write and tell us your experience with them.

 Thankyou to Mark at DGC mag for content and graph. http://www.dgcmagazine.com

Webmoney Shows Huge Growth In 2007

This month Webmoney Transfer announced their 2007 annual numbers and included some additional company information. The digital currency giant, continued to experience tremendous growth through out 2007.

The number of new account registrations in their system passed the 4 million mark during 2007 and looks like it will soon pass the 5 million mark.

In the past year, 1,440,000 million new customers joined the Webmoney system.

The total number of customer transactions (turnover) for the past twelve months exceeded $3.33 Billion US dollars.

They transacted more than 27,000,000 million individual customer payments.

Last but certainly not least, even their mobile service showed excellent growth. Webmoney Keeper Mobile now services almost 170,000 users.

A brand new version of Client application – WM Keeper Classic 3.6.0.1 is now available for download from the their web site. This popular company has experienced dramatic growth each year since their start in 2001.

http://www.wmtransfer.com/

Paypal at present has over 120 million customers that use its services. Customers ranging from large companies who do thousands of transactions to individuals who just want to occasionally send and receive money on line. So how does paypal measure up to the banks we have been using for 100’s of years?

Well, at first glance, Paypal may seem to be the cheaper option. Yet payments are levied by paypal to receive or (bank) money. Converting from one currency to another will also cost you money, so what are the advantages over a traditional bank? Good question!

Accessibility may be one, although most major banks have been offering secure online banking for 10 years now, where money can be sent and received, accounts can be paid and payment orders arranged. So who needs Paypal.

Well for some transactions it may be cheaper. The one advantage a freelancer has, is that they can see imeadiately that someone has paid them, as they get an e mail, and must accept the funds. No checking at the bank.

 However, if I banked online, I could check after 48 hours that the swift payment had arrived. The person sending the funds can even arrange for my bank to phone me when the funds arrive.

I mentioned in a previous post, that for companies with multiple payments to make, it may be easier to send money to JohnSmith @yahoo.com, than to know and record all the banking co-ordinates for each person. That’s about it in terms of advantages as far as I’m concerned. So how has this company grown to have  over 120 million customers worldwide?

Well, initially they targeted the very people they are now getting tough on: those who don’t want to deal  with banks or credit card companies because of a bad credit record, dirty money or tax avoidance. Certainly at the outset these customers were “untraceable” and no one asked them how they made the money they were sending or receiving. However, eventually Paypal as a legally registered company, were also obliged to ask the same questions banks have been required  to ask customers for many years now. Of course there are many other non-regulated online payment companies, who don’t ask these questions and still operate by giving their non-traceable clients a payment card to access their cash, and who compete in the same market as Paypal.

So for freelancers who work online and may need to receive a salary ( they do not neccessarily want to spend it all buying things online), they have to have a normal bank account to receive money into when they need it, that’s traceable. A credit card  to secure the paypal account, is also needed, so that’s traceable.

So what are the advantages to their 120  million customers?

Paypal made their site more secure than others this year as the link shows.

http://www.bizzia.com/paypal-security-key-paypal-hangs-out-the-no-phishing-sign/

Pay pal also  recently added the paylater feature to attract ex credit card users. Be sure that they won’t advance you money that is not backed by funds in your account, and that a check will be done on you first.

http://www.thepaypalblog.com/weblog/2008/05/a-new-way-to-pa.html

But what are the real advantages to having a Paypal account?

Tell us digitalmoneyworld readers, what are the advantages for you over a bank account held at a traditional regulated bank? Leave your comments.

Moneypenny

This link on Paypal customers and their payment preferences, ties in rather nicely with a theme we’ve had here on digitalmoneyworld in the last week. That of security, and in particular, data security with any online payment system.

Weve spoken about scams, both with traditional banks in my last post, and also companies like moneybookers and the spammers and scammers that try to steal  your information.

The golden rule in protecting yourself here seems to be “think twice before you give out your personal information“.  How safe is it?  Where will it be used and stored, and most important, is the company/person  asking for it actually who they say they are?

http://www.elanso.com/ArticleModule/KeKeUfVIPKUfGJW6NOVIONIi.html

Moneypenny