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WHAT MONEY DO THEY USE IN "ARMENIAN" INTERNET?

Emerging at the same time with credit cards e-commerce experienced a real boom due to wider internet surfing opportunities when any man could access www from his home PC. Merely an e-commercial at first e-commerce began quickly evolving from a web-server used by a company to feature its goods and services to the first order and consequently the first internet-shop where customers paid by credit cards only. It turned out later that credit cards are not universal - in some spheres a credit card deal often cost more than the buy. Besides the first payment systems were far from secure. This urged experts to develop most various payment schemes. E-commerce is a novelty in Armenia but it is gradually gaining momentum. In the past two years Armeia has launched two e-payment systems both orineted to Armenian Dram.

One of them - DramCash (http://www.paycash.am/) is based on PayCash, admittedly the most safe and reliable payment technology of these days, says Edward Martirossyan, technical director of Eldina, the DramCash operating company. Launched quite recently the system allows e-payment in drams. This is a protected network of client software known as internet wallet. The user can download an internet wallet on his PC or flash card free of charge from the operator site. As soon as the software is there the system's processing center gives the user an individual registration account. The whole registration takes no more than five minutes. PayCash is also applied by YandexMoney (Russia), Cyphermint (USA), IntenetMoney (Ukraine). DramCash will allow Armenia-based users to do shopping in internet stores, to pay for mobile phone, internet, cable TV services in drams. The company also provides for bill payment schemes. Martirossyan says that the the system testing began Oct 27 2003. Since then they have attained a universal format of cooperation with the multi-currency Yandex-Money portals this allowing Armenian buyers to pay for Russian goods and services in e-drams. Martirossyan says that e-dram has been made "convertible" into any other currency of PayCash. Currently disucssed is the technical aspect of e-dram conversion into Web-Money, Egold, EPort.

Besides Eldina has concluded a unique contract with GoldFishka, the biggest online casino in Russia. Today there are many cyber casinos accepting AMD but only GoldFishka pays winnings in dram. Very shortly the company is starting to sell 2,000-, 5,000-, 10,000- and 50,000 AMD scratch-cards. Presently it is expecting the e-connection of a number of Armenian shops.

EDram is a quite different system, says Gevorg Pogossyan, director of NATC llc, EDram designer company. It is a unique complex of the best features of its Western and Russian analogues. "One can use it from any computer having internet, even in internet-cafes, while most of its counterparts require downloading special terminals." EDram money is absolutely virtual and noncash. The customer buys a prepaid EDram card certifying his right to do shopping on the internet for a definite sum. "Today we have four types of EDram cards: 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 AMD." Pogossyan says that the system spans a very broad range of services. One can use it to pay one's bills - gas, water and electricity. Soon one will be able to use them in restaurants, CD shops and other public facilities. NATC is presently negotiating with the ArmenTel telecom company for the opportunity to pay online for intracity and mobile calls. "We have a cyber exchange office on our site where one will be able to convert his AMD into any cuber currency (e-gold, Yandex.Money)," says Pogossyan. Besides the company is considering cooperation with active online traders. They will have to pay only a small fixed sum. "Armenian legislation prohibits commercial companies to make gratis deals so we have decided to charge symbolic 5 AMD per deal," says Pogossyan.

Comment: You have certainly noted that the above two systems have much in common: both can convert AMD on-line, both are on similar terms with on-line buyers and sellers. But there is also one substantial difference: it is between DramCash "internet-wallets" and NATC one-buy cards. A DramCash user will need an own PC or a flash card with "wallet" software, while EDram allows its user to do shopping from any computer - quite convenient for most Armenians whose only www access is internet-cafe.

Thus DramCash will most probably interest home and office PC owners. But this is not solely a matter of technical access but rather of mentality. Experts note that Armenian e-buyers are wavering and floundering even when the online store is round the corner. This notwithstanding more and more e-traders from Yandex.Money are trying to tempt Armenian internet-users with "shopping" opportunities in Russia. They might hope that Armenian e-consumers will ultimately "abandon" their mentality. But there is also a group of Russian e-shop frequenters who are most probably the target of Yandex.Money. Be as it may any direction will have a positive impact on the Armenian IT. As for the further developments they will come with the need to revise one or another direction.

One interesting fact - today e-commerce is considered worldwide to be a very lucrative business - everyone can use it from everywhere. They have even done online shopping from space! Dec 11 2001 the Moskovsky Komsomolets informed of Russian cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin doing shopping right from their spacecraft. They used VISA cards to transfer virtual money to an e-shop to buy X-mas gifts and flowers for their friends and relatives. Obviously space shopping is not coming soon - but down here on earth let's hope that in Armenia e-commerce will develop earlier.

By Viacheslav Khachatryan, ARMINFO, 2004