Sarasota, FL 3/26/2008 8:41:55 PM
Money goes digital
Pennycents Magazine Reports on MyECheck
Pennycents Magazine, the market’s most valuable research tool covering micro-cap, penny stock and otcbb equities, issued the following daily column by Dan Blacharski.
The brick-and-mortar retail industry continues to report bad news, as credit becomes less available and consumers tighten their belts to prepare for the oncoming recession. But even as fewer people are going to the mall, more are going online to make their purchases. Here’s a very telling statistic. The amount of money a company spends on advertising is closely related to the state of the economy. According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, advertising spending as a whole decreased by 0.1 percent for the first three quarters of 2007 compared to the same period a year ago. But, while the broad spend has decreased, Internet-based advertising has increased by 15.9 percent for the same period.
Retailers are quick to find out where consumers are spending their dollars, and adjust their ad budgets accordingly. Naturally during hard economic times, consumers spend less overall, but several factors make Internet commerce more attractive even during recession. Besides the gasoline factor, Internet prices tend to be more competitive; and consumers have over the past few years become more comfortable with Internet-based commerce. In the early days, there was a safety concern, and there still is, but for the most part, buying something online is just as safe, if not safer, than walking into the mall and handing over your credit card to a 19-year old clerk named “Spike” who is trying to save up for a tongue piercing.
This brings up the issue of how to pay for something online. PayPal has made big business out of online payments and has pushed it into the mainstream. But, PayPal isn’t the only online payment provider on the block, even if they are the largest. Online merchants are advised to offer their virtual customers multiple ways to pay, and many allow customers to pay either via PayPal, credit card, online e-check, or one of several micropayment schemes that are still emerging. Those payment companies have the potential to be very profitable. Any company that handles other peoples’ money, even for a short time, has a big advantage (unless you’re Bear Stearns), not just because of the processing fees, but also because of the float.
MyECheck (OTCBB: MYEC) allows merchants to offer their customers the option of using their checking accounts as an online payment method. Their software is capable of debiting all US-based checking accounts, even accounts that ACH cannot debit. The Canadian company also offers fraud loss prevention services, check remittance processing, and remote deposit capture services. Earlier this month, the company started trading on the over-the-counter symbol MYEC.
The writer does not own shares in the above stocks.
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