iBill
IBill In The Hot Seat
The iBill saga has become a dense Dickensian tale without apparent end, though speculation and blame are abundant.
IBill Indicates Merger Completed; Care Concepts Says 'No'
In a controversial conference call to its clients on Wednesday, iBill released information that indicates iBill will be holding accounts that no longer produce new sign-ups in reserve for six months and that payment processor may have already been acquired by media holding company Care Concepts.
An iBill Update
After providing you with the first hint of a possible solution to iBill's problems, I received the following e-mail. It was sent out to iBill Clients (webmasters / merchants), in the wake of the mailing sent out to Customers (membership site subscribers and other consumers), which I reported on Friday. Rather than relying on interpretation and the misinformation common on industry message boards, I thought it would be best for interested parties to hear the latest news direct from iBill:
IBill Adopts Virtual Visa
The ongoing saga of iBill's attempts to remain in the online adult transaction processing business took a surprise turn Friday when customers began receiving email notifications about changes to their subscription status.
IBill Lays Off About 50 Employees, Sources Say
Widespread Internet rumblings were confirmed today, indicating that the beleagured payment processor has indeed let go employees from multiple departments and that the firings were caused by iBill's recent financial troubles with its former credit card processor First Data.
IBill Woes Caused by Faulty Management, Analyst Warns
Recent financial troubles suffered by Internet payment processor iBill may have been caused by “inappropriate” management issues, according to an industry analyst.
IBill Issues Statement
After losing its credit card payment processor earlier this month, iBill issued a statement to its clients Wednesday assuring them that it is working on freeing up additional capital to speed up the remittance of past due payments.
Care Concepts Delays IBill Acquisition
The recent purchaser of payment processor iBill, Care Concept I Inc., announced Friday that it intends to rescind its purchase and delay acquisition in order to keep company stock eligible for trading on the American Stock Exchange.
Adult Digital Media Offers Free Content Feed to IBill Customers
AdultDigitalMedia.com made a show of support Thursday to payment processor iBill, which earlier this week was denied a motion for a preliminary injunction in a contract dispute against First Data Merchant Services Corp.
IBill, First Data in Contract Dispute
Third-party payment processor iBill has filed a complaint against First Data Merchant Services Corp. alleging that First Data is costing iBill $800,000 per day because it failed to make good on the promise to help transition its accounts to another credit card processor.
DuoCash, IBill Sign Marketing Agreement
DuoCash and iBill have inked a deal that allows merchants to accept prepaid phone cards using DuoCash’s communications network. With the deal, the companies anticipate that merchants will see a 5 to 15 percent increase in sales volume when the prepaid phone cards are added as a payment option for online merchants.
iBill: A Case Study
For almost a decade, Internet Billing Company (iBill) has been a leader in the online transactions processing business, focusing on protecting its customers from the dangers of online credit fraud. Recently, iBill enhanced this protection. Here's how:
Care Concepts to Integrate Auction Business With IBill
Care Concept’s completed acquisition of iBill this week is expected to expand the third-party processor’s operations into the auction business, company officials say.
IBill Debuts WebPhone, Merchant Enhancements
Online adult payment processor iBill rolled out a number of new services Thursday designed to ramp up its business. The company debuted at Internext a phone transaction processing platform called WebPhone and announced several product enhancements customized for web merchants.
Care Concepts I to Buy IBill in All-Stock Deal
Care Concepts I Inc. agreed to acquire iBill from Penthouse International for $55 million in an all-stock deal. Care Concepts, a media and marketing holding company, said the deal will provide added flexibility and synergy to Care Concept's auction operations.
IBill Says It’s Still in Visa’s ‘Risk’ Program
IBill last month said it had been notified by its processing bank and San Francisco-based Visa that it was the first Internet payment service provider to be released from the program that targets “high risk” merchants. But iBill this week said that statement was not in fact the case.
Mounting iBill Problems Sinking Penthouse
XBiz learned late Friday that Penthouse public shares would no longer be traded on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board and that its stock has been relegated to the Pink Sheets, a stock quotation service that handles high-risk ventures and isn't regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
U.S. Probes IBill, 2 Other Billing Processors
The Justice Department is investigating iBill, one of the largest online adult billing processors. The probe is apparently looking at possible antitrust violations and seeks to determine whether two competing online adult payment providers, as well as iBill, collaborated to set those fees.
IBill Sold to Penthouse International Unit
IBill, the largest processor of credit card payments for the online adult industry, has been sold to a subsidiary of Penthouse International Inc. The deal ends a chapter for credit card processor Intercept, which purchased iBill in 2002 for $104 million.
IBill Seeks More Information
An iBill official said Thursday that its credit card processor, which handles Visa, has requested more information from a “handful of Internet merchants” whose businesses are incorporated in Delaware. Up to 35 adult Web businesses will be affected by the decision to demand proof of physical addresses.