A new way of making payments over the internet was revealed yesterday by eCharge Inc. The privately-held company unveiled its eponymous payment technology at New York’s thinly-attended Internet & Electronic Commerce exposition. eCharge is aimed at people who either do not have credit cards, or are worried about using them over the net for fear of the details falling into the wrong hands. The money is billed to the consumer’s telephone bill utilizing the 900 premium rate numbers. The company already has deals with AT&T Corp, MCI Communications Corp and Frontier Corp. The success of the systems also depends eCharge getting deals with vendors, and so far it has signed a few, among them CBS SportsLine and Portland Software Inc, plus a few charitable organizations and fan clubs. However, ambitious eCharge believes it will have up to 5,000 merchants signed by the year end. When the user sees the eCharge logo on a website next to an item they wish to purchase, s/he clicks on it, and if it is the first time s/he has used eCharge, it will download eCharge’s 170k application from the web site. The software is written in a mix of C++ and Java. There are no forms to fill in to buy the item as the transaction is completed by the consumer’s existing telephone company. With the first version, the user must disconnect from their ISP and reconnect to their telephone provider – provided it has signed with eCharge – and the transaction is completed. eCharge’s chairman Ron Erickson said the next version of the product will not require the user to disconnect and will using a shopping cart approach. Further down the line a version that works on corporate LANs in planned. eCharge makes its money from transaction fees. It charges merchants a percentage, which it says is as low as 7.5 percent plus the customer is also charged 50 cents for transactions worth less than $15 and $1 per item for things costing more. The company claims that by calling the phone company, rather than going out over the internet, the transaction is more secure and private. However, the rates for 900 numbers are pretty high, and can be as much as $3 a minute. They also are perceived as being the preserve of porn peddlers and psychic chat lines. But eCharge is not put off by that. Erickson said a warning will pop up every time the modem is about to dial the number warning that children under 18 must get permission from whoever pays the phone bill. But that still leaves the sleazy perception to overcome, and gradually people will become used to giving their credit card details out over the web, so that just leaves eCharge with those who do not have credit cards. Hutchison says the company will also look abroad where credit card penetration is not as widespread as in the US. eCharge reckons it has no direct competitors in this space and has a patent pending on the technology. The Seattle-based company, founded by president Rob Hutchison and executive VP George Fleming is funded by individuals, but is talking to venture capitalists at the moment.
