Since early 1998, Verza, and its subsidiary, Verotel Merchant Services (www.verza.com; www.verotel.com), have provided turnkey billing and shopping solutions for Webmasters with an eye toward streamlining transactions between Internet merchants and their customers. To this end, the company has put together a range of tools, payment mechanisms, and an iron-clad processing environment to make online sales possible - and profitable - for small merchants worldwide.
Before Verza was Verza, it was a storefront Internet cafe in downtown Amsterdam, close to the city's world famous Red Light District. At the time, Joost Zuurbier, Verza's co-president and one of its founders, was catering to a steady stream of American tourists who would come in to read their e-mail, and buy modems and Internet access.
"Suddenly, people from the Red Light District began coming into my shop [more frequently], asking if it was possible to charge for their services online," Zuurbier says.
Back then, in 1996, Internet connection speeds were glacial and support infrastructure was still in its infancy. "They didn't know how to bill [properly for their services]. I did some research, met my current business partner, Paul Kraaijvanger, made a business plan, and in late 1997, I went to the United States to form the company with him," Zuurbier says.
Today, Verza is a VC-backed, pre-IPO startup with established footprints on both sides of the Atlantic. Verza's Unix-based dual-processor systems feature redundant network capability; fifty servers manage millions of transactions daily, which are handled by a staff of 30.
Kraaijvanger oversees the company's U.S. base of operations in San Francisco, while Zuurbier works at the global network operations center in Amsterdam. "Early in 2000, I came back [to Holland], because banking regulations in Europe were more relaxed, [and remain so] even today," Zuurbier says.
Though Zuurbier says the company uses the names Verza and Verotel "interchangeably" - at least in casual conversation - it should be noted that Verza.com is for the selling of software, documents, pictures, videos, and other electronic content; and Verotel.com is for the sale of tangible items. Whatever you're selling, clients can order products directly with a minimum of click-throughs. Customers can pay by credit card or by direct debit.
Verza and Verotel also offer an affiliate/reseller program, allowing their clients to advertise another's products. Verza dispenses bi-weekly payments to advertisers directly and subtracts the commission from product sales.
"I am just a flaked computer science student. Automation is the highest priority in our business. That's why we can manage this multi-million-dollar business with just a handful of people. It's great!" Zuurbier says.
To get started with Verza, clients must register their product offerings online. Additional products and file uploads can also be facilitated after the initial sign-up period. This product registration allows Verza to create an original HTML hyperlink to copy and implement into any Web page.
A Verza order button automatically appears next to the picture of the featured product. In a thoughtful bid for multicultural cachet, order button templates and the complete order process are available in 14 of the world's major languages.
Customers can also indicate the number of products they want to order. Once they go to the Verza shop, which contains the full product inventory, they can modify orders and quantities, or delete products from the shopping before completing any transactions.
After clients provide Verza with a short and full description of the product or service, including relevant artwork and exact product dimensions, the company generates the advertisement for each product automatically.
A comprehensive list of items and/or services that are off limits for the Verza program are commonsensical, but nevertheless, include the following: "Adult items deemed to be illegal in buyer's locale, state/province, or nation; donations, pyramid schemes, money-making services, work-at-home or financial services, and services relating to SPAM or illegal or unwanted marketing" among others. Suffice it to say the list is longer and covers just about every legal statute imaginable.
U.S. transactions can be completed via direct deposit into checking accounts. Depending on the location, international customers are paid by an International SWIFT or local bank transfer. To initiate processing with Verza, a bank account capable of receiving wire transfers is required.
Verza uses identification technology that identifies the hardware and software used during every transaction, preventing a "friendly fraudster" to sign up again, after s/he has filed a chargeback or has been issued a credit because of fraud.
"I am a security kind of guy," Zuurbier says. "One of my tools I am using is SSH. PUTTY is an excellent piece of software; it's shareware and comes from the Czech Republic. Those guys know what they're doing."
Zuurbier relishes the challenge of integrating traditional business structures with e-commerce models. "Educating banks is a cool job. They often don't know what's happening in the e-commerce field. Teaching and educating them makes them more aware, and in Europe you can gain more trust doing this. That's the motivation to continue the struggle with chargebacks and fraud," he says.
"Chargebacks are evil," Zuurbier says.
He admits that he still has a hard time understanding the logic of the credit card companies that continue to accept chargebacks from people who tell flimsy stories to their banks, professing innocence for something that they were clearly responsible for in the first place. "Okay, [sometimes] there is no proof, but in most cases, it really was that person [who made the purchase].
"Friendly fraud is the evil of the Internet, which results in chargebacks. I have seen many instances when this is happening, but most end-users know how to cancel right now," Zuurbier says.
Marketing is the Holy Grail of generating and maintaining Internet traffic. Zuurbier feels that the vast majority of Webmasters don't take their marketing efforts seriously.
"It's all about eyeballs. Do anything you can to get those eyeballs to your Website. Of course, there is a difference between quality eyeballs and non-quality eyeballs. Here, the 80/20 rule counts: 80 percent of the volume comes from 20 percent of the Webmasters. Be sure you belong to that 20 percent," Zuurbier says.
