WebMoney

Webmoney is an electronic money and online payment system with similarity to Paypal, E-Gold and other E-Currency services. It provides a fast and somewhat anonymous payment system however the registration process requires email verification and account holders are encouraged to verify themselves further through sending an SMS message from their cellphone making it more strict than E-Gold for opening and using an account. WM verification gives the following advantages: private key file retrieval if you have lost control over your WMID; complaint to the Arbitration service; credit activities; access to online services, Internet exchanges, information resources requiring personal client identification. Verified users can issue trust certificates to other users and take fees for the service. Any user can become a verified Register. Verified Registers can verify other WebMoney users. 
Transactions are conducted through the WMTransfer software which comes in three distinct flavours : 

• WM Keeper Classic — A standalone application, that is dowloaded and then installed onto your PC.
• WM Keeper Light — A secure browser based application that doesn’t require installation of client software onto a user’s PC.
• Telepat — A technology enabling the operation of an account via any mobile device or cell phone, that supports Java.

WM Transfer Ltd, the owner and administrator of WebMoney Transfer Online Payment System, was founded in 1998 and is a legal corporate entity of Belize, Central America. Originally targeted at Russian consumers and businesses, Webmoney is now in use worldwide and the company claims to have more than 3.7 million account holders. According to the stats on the website, Webmoney executed over 75,000 transactions worth over 10 Million dollars on this day alone. The main address for technical support is given in Moscow; the main proprietor and administrator is located in Belize. Transactions in WMR are underwritten by WMR LLC in Moscow and transactions in WME and WMZ are underwritten by Amstar Holdings Limited in Panama. 
The System supports several types of e-currency, secured by various resources and tangibles. Each individual e-currency has a dedicated electronic wallet, called a Purse:

• WMR — equivalent to RUR (R-Purse)
• WMZ — equivalent to USD (Z-Purse) 
• WME — equivalent to EUR (E-Purse) 
• WMU — equivalent to UAH (U-Purse) 
• WMB — equivalent to Belorussian Roubles (B-Purse) 
• WMY — equivalent to Uzbek Sum (Y-Purse) 
• WM-C and WM-D — WMZ equivalent for transactions on Ñ- and D-purses

WebMoney transactions are inherently safe because they do not require credit card or bank account information to be stored in the system unlike Paypal which is well known for it’s problems with phishing schemes. Webmoney makes online businesses immune to certain scams because transactions are final and cannot be repudiated by the spender which is similar to e-gold or cash transactions but unlike credit card transactions and PayPal which can incur chargebacks. 
WebMoney incorporates an instant messaging system as well as a way to send out bills and to extend credit. It is also possible to protect a payment with a password. The payment is withdrawn from the payer’s account and added to the payee’s account, but cannot be redeemed unless the password is known. The payer will typically provide the password once the promised goods have been delivered. Some operations require a higher level of user authentication known as a “WM Passport” which a user can obtain from authorized parties. 
It is not possible to buy WM units online with a credit card or a Paypal account. A Webmoney purse can be funded by a bank wire, by receiving funds from other account holders, by issuing invoices, by a prepaid WM-Card or through a E-Currency exchanger.