Yet another Person To Person payments system has emerged: WingCash
http://wingcash.com
If Bitcoin is described as a decentralized, anonymous digital currency then WingCash is the polar opposite -- a centralized, fully public, representative currency.
How WingCash works:
- WingCash "Notes" are issued in denominations matching physical U.S. coins ($0.01, $0.05, $0.10 and $0.25) and U.S. currency ($1, $5, $10, $20 and $100).
- Each note is serialized, and can be viewed online. The entire history of the note (the current owner and at least the last eight recent owners) is visible, publicly.
Example: https://wingcash.com/usd/w002-53bd-a7ef-f3d5
When viewed online, the image presented on the note matches the denomination of its physical U.S. equivalent. For example, the $0.10 Note will show the image of a U.S. dime, and the $50 Note will show the image of a U.S. $50 bill. - The owner of the note holds the cash online in a centralized ewallet account through WingCash.com. The notes are backed with cash in a cash account held by the note's issuer -- either Wingcash or a bank partner (I presume this is in cash accounts that are fully FDIC insured funds, similar to how PayPal handles accountholder balances).
- Transactions are irrevocable, which means there are no chargebacks if a transaction sours.
- Selling WingCash (withdrawing funds cashing out): Notes may be transferred at face value to your U.S. checking or savings account (via ACH). WingCash charges $0.25 per withdrawal. A merchant who accepts WingCash may also cash out your notes at face value without the fee.
- Buying WingCash (adding funds): Notes may purchased only from participating retailers or by exchanging with an individual.
- There are no transaction fees when using WingCash notes as payment with a merchant or between individuals.
- Currently, registration for individuals is allowed only for certain states. The three states, Montana, New Mexico and South Carolina are states in which WingCash can likely operate without registering as a money transmitter. Dwolla followed a similar approach before going national last year. Merchants from any state may register now.
- Money may be sent to users on the social networks Twitter and Facebook. If the recipient has already linked the social network account to WingCash, notes are transferred to the recipient's ewallet immediately. Otherwise, the notes are claimed only after the recipient logs in and links (via OAUTH) the account. There also is the ability to make transfers via email and LinkedIn but it isn't immediate.
It offers merchants the holy grail of irrevocable payment. This proposition is so compelling that merchants may actively seek to promote it as an alternative to most other forms of payment.
WingCash appears to be scalable and sustainable because they have eliminated the complexity and cost of charge-backs,
The CEO also founded ProPay, which is one of the few payment alternatives to PayPal on eBay.
Bradley Wilkes is part of a payment technology family dynasty. The Wilkes clan has been embedded deeply in the fabric of the payments industry since the nineties. Clay Wilkes is CEO of Galileo Payment Processing, a well known leader in processing General Purpose Reloadable (GPR) prepaid payment cards such as those offered by NetSpend and Greendot (GDOT). Dave Wilkes is Founder and CEO of Fuze Networks. These gentlemen are all veterans of our industry. I think payment technology is part of their DNA.
http://www.glgroup.com/News/2011-Startup-WingCash-%E2%80%93-The-Next-Generation-of-Money--52047.htmlBlog:
http://blog.wingcash.comFAQ:
https://wingcash.com/faqWingCash adds to the crowded Person to Person payment networks, which include Paypal (credit and ACH), Dwolla (ACH), PopMoney (ACH), and a plethora of mobile money startups.
Incidentally, WingCash is not to be confused with the mobile cash system used in Cambodia called WING Cash Xpress:
http://www.wingmoney.com