October 23, 2000

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Service Turns Payment Into E-Mail Gold

Qchex offers low-cost, seamless money transfers for consumers and businesses

By Cheryl Rosen

More on payment services:

Online Payment Services Eschew Credit Cards (9/25/00) TechWeb: Online Payments Take A Cue From Napster (9/22/00) Internet Week: Good As Cash: The Check Is In The E-Mail (8/21/00)

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iring money is taking on a whole new meaning thanks to a new service from Neovi Data Corp. It lets consumers and businesses E-mail payments, and the recipient prints out a check seconds later.

Well, almost. The payees must first register and download the free security software that makes it impossible to print a check more than once. When that's accomplished, they click on the E-mail link to the Qchex.com Web site, enter a password, and print out the checks. White laser paper will work fine, as Qchex will print all the details, including the bank-routing and account numbers. Registered consumers get 30 free checks a month; businesses pay about a nickel for each check. Qchex also sells pre-perforated stock with microprinting and artificial watermarks to deter fraud for $14.99 per box of 250.

The advantage of the system is the speed, as well as the low cost and the lack of intermediaries between the two parties, says Qchex chief operating officer James Danforth.

However, analysts say it's a step in the wrong direction for a world trying to go paperless, and Qchex will have a hard time competing with PayPal and other emerging E-mail payment systems that transfer money directly into bank accounts.

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