Launched quietly in mid-November by professionals with a combined total of about 50 years’ experience in the direct marketing and investment banking industries, alternative payment solution company NetCash already has made a splash by signing some of the adult industry’s most notable online players.
Atlas Media, Curious Cash, Entertainment Cash, Real Sex Cash, and Yanks Cash all signed with NetCash before the end of the year, and co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Peter Shapiro said they’re “really pleased” with the product and the service.
According to Shapiro, the company aspires to do what other anonymous prepaid solutions have yet to do well: “Our three driving forces are anonymity, security, and convenience, with a special emphasis on making it easy for consumers to obtain and use the product.”
In truth, a quick walk-through of the system does seem to demonstrate that one doesn’t need to be a genius to sign up for the prepaid virtual card or to use it once acquired. Especially nice is that it can be purchased online using a credit card (which makes NetCash re-loadable on demand) or with cash at more than 52,000 major retail outlets (including well-known chain stores) in the U.S. Unlike other prepaid solutions, NetCash balances purchased with a credit card are completely refundable and may be combined (in cases where consumers acquire more than one).
There’s no fee for consumers to acquire or use NetCash, and online merchants who accept it are charged fees similar to those they’re accustomed to paying third-party credit card processors.
Particularly intriguing from the consumers’ standpoint is that NetCash provides an online interface that makes it easy to keep track of usernames and passwords for every site at which they’ve used NetCash. The interface also allows consumers to cancel subscriptions through NetCash instead of visiting each website individually.
Merchants have quite a bit to be impressed by, as well. NetCash is integrated with back-ends MPA3 and NATS, and participating merchants are paid for sales weekly. Robust, real-time stats are available through an online interface for affiliate programs that employ their own proprietary back-ends.
According to Shapiro, because consumers aren’t required to divulge much personal information in order to purchase and use NetCash, online merchants are able to gain new customers among the “afraid of e-commerce” set right away. A quick-and-easy pop-up form enables them to purchase NetCash with one or two clicks right at the online point of purchase.
“It’s found money,” Shapiro said.
Oystein Wright, chief executive officer of MPA3 developer Mansion Productions, is sold on the product. “I’ve been involved in the adult business for 10 years, and speaking from experience, I can state unequivocally that NetCash is a paradigm-shifting product that will fill a huge market void,” he said. “I [recommend] each of our clients sign up.”
