Moneybookers Digital Wallet

There is no stopping progress, no slowing the rush of technology. Increasingly, the world is becoming digitalized. People buy and download music straight to their smartphones, movies and television shows are streamed directly to TV sets; and, books are shared between electronic devices. With all of these transactions – and more – occurring not in person but digitally, across computers and phones and tablets – there arises the need for a reliable and safe exchange of money. That is exactly where Moneybookers comes in.

Moneybookers is a business that acts as a trusted intermediary between business partners or buyers and sellers. It handles the exchange in real time, so that those using the system can quickly determine if their transaction was legitimate. Each party’s personal information (such as credit card number and home address) is given only to Moneybookers, so that there is the reduced likelihood of fraud or identity theft.

The company was founded in the year 2001 and has grown quickly and steeply. Already, there are more than 400 employees handling the company’s many, many transactions. It is both based in and regulated by the United Kingdom. It has received numerous awards over the years including some coming from the Media Momentum Awards (2011), the Card & Payments Awards (2012) and the Sunday Times Tech Track Awards (2010), to name a few.

Types of Products and Services

There are a number of products and services offered by Moneybookers to facilitate better online business transactions. One example is a simple money transfer. If you want to send money to someone on the other side of the world, it is actually an easy matter; you simply fill out the required information and have it transferred to the recipient’s Moneybookers account, bank account, etc. This is much safer than putting the money in an envelope where it could be lost or stolen; and, it is infinitely faster, with the transaction being completed in a matter of seconds rather than days or weeks.

Shopping online is also significantly more comforting with Moneybookers. After all, some websites – such as Amazon – are known to be reputable and trustworthy with your information. But, if you are simply shopping random internet sites, you might find a product you would love to buy being sold on a somewhat questionable site. Previously, you had two options: take your chances by sending your personal information and hoping for the best or not buying the product. Now, if it accepts payment through Moneybookers, you can reduce your risk by giving your info to Moneybookers only and allowing them to finish the transaction on your behalf.

Moneybookers accepts a wide variety of different payment options, as well. Some examples of different payment types that are accepted include bank accounts, credit cards and even local bank transfers.

Fees

Unfortunately, the services aren’t free. Moneybookers charges fees in order to remain profitable and in business. The fee amounts usually depend on the location and type. For example, a merchant who is accepting payments through the site that are lesser in value than $3,000.00 pay 2.90 percent (or $0.29). This lessens when the payments are above that dollar amount. Though some may view these fees as an inconvenience or a waste, they keep the site running. And, Moneybookers does offer a number of services without any other additional charges. For example withdrawing money from your Moneybookers account is free and there is no charge to establish an account in the first place.

Disadvantages

If there is one disadvantage to using the site, it is the fees. Nevertheless, compare the fees to the cost of both stamping an envelope and then waiting for days for it to arrive at its destination. You may find that it is not that big an amount to have to pay. Even local or national banks require fees these days, unless you have a high balance sitting in your account.

Another disadvantage is that it is not accepted by everyone. This means that for those vendors or merchants, you will need a different site or method to pay. One way to counteract this disadvantage is to tell everyone about it; the more people known about Moneybookers, the more places it will be accepted in the future.

However, it is important to restate that Moneybookers is not a scam (an unfortunate misconception for some who have not had personal experience with the site). It is an actual business. In fact, when eBay – which had long used its own money transfer site, Paypal, to handle money transactions – needed to add in an alternate method of payment to avoid an antitrust lawsuit, it turned towards Moneybookers because of that company’s clean, reliable reputation.

Rebranding

Moneybookers has made it well known that they are in the midst of rebranding themselves. Their very name is changing to something else entirely: Skrill. This change is meant to emphasize the positive evolution occurring behind the scenes at Moneybookers. According to its representatives, it is becoming faster, safer and more streamlined. Some of the products offered already bear this new name, such as the Skrill Digital Wallet.

The name change also acknowledges the company’s quiet move away from having actual money transfer stations and being entirely internet-based.

Overall

Overall, it is worthwhile to use Moneybookers because the site lets you shop and spend from a variety of vendors without giving your personal information away too many times. And as a vendor, you do not need to worry about whether or not a personal check is reliable. This creates clean, happy transactions on both ends.

The next time you are looking to make an online pay or transaction, determine first if they include Moneybookers (or perhaps Skrill) as a payment option.