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MoneyBookers

Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 1:38 pm
by mgauction
Has anyone here ever used this service? I've never heard of it. I have a seller asking me to send money to his account there.

Wikipedia describes it as: "Moneybookers is an e-commerce business that allows payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. It serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders. Moneybookers performs payment processing for websites, online auction sites, and other corporate users, for which it charges a fee. Moneybookers is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gatcombe Park Ventures Limited and their corporate headquarters are in London, UK.

Moneybookers account holders must be 18 or over with a debit/credit card or bank account and an e-mail address. Unlike many competing online fund transfer services, Moneybookers requires identity verification before using their service to minimize fraud and prevent money laundering. Additional verification steps raise the maximum amount transferable to €20,000 or equivalent within a 90-day period. Moneybookers does not usually get involved in merchandise disputes and the availability of credit card chargebacks may be limited."

Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 4:36 pm
by jakeox
Mike, Moneybookers itself is a legit company, although my only experience with it is in the context of using it to fund online poker sites. I should qualify that and say that I've not used it personally (US customers cannot fund poker sites with it), but know of many others who have.

Of course, this says nothing of the reliability of the seller -- and I don't know how good their dispute resolution services are, if they exist. You may be able to fund it through a credit card and get protection that way. But think of it the same way as, say, Western Union. They'll get the money there, but I doubt they'll care what happens beyond the money transfer.

As I said, no direct experience, but the company itself is legit.

Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 4:37 pm
by jakeox
Also, it may cost you something to send the payment, unlike PayPal (but much like Western Union, etc.).

Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 4:52 pm
by mgauction
Thank you, Jake! The last part about disputes and it being like Western Union is where the red light blinks. Western Union does nothing about disputes. They don't care and, in their case, no ID is required. Somehow scammers are working around Moneybookers. I think this is a new scam by the same old scammers that have found a new avenue. The bass being offered is at a price too good to be true. Hopefully several people will take notice of these posts.