Interview With Steve Renner of CashCards.net, e-gold's® New Primary Dealer

This is an interview with the Mr. Steve Renner. For the last 7 years he has operated http://www.cashcards.net/ . His company is also now the primary dealer for exchanges of e-gold® digital currency.

Since 2006, OmniPay the original primary dealer for e-gold, has been out of business. With the loss of OmniPay, e-gold® independent agent exchange rates have risen from 2-3% all the way up to 25% in some cases. The 'exchange rate' is the fee an independent agent charges to exchange national currency into digital currency that can be used online. Sending national currency to purchase e-gold is called an 'inexchange' and withdrawing digital currency into national currency is known as an 'outexchange'. All exchange transactions for e-gold are handled through third party independent exchange agents. E-gold Ltd. has never even had a bank account and does not accept customer funds.

With a new primary dealer, it is believed that these exchange rates might fall back to normal ranges(3-6%). E-gold is still widely used around the world for Internet commerce so this information is welcome news for all account holders.

Mr. Renner also has the longest running e-currency debit card ever created in the history of digital gold currency. Knowing that over the past decade hundreds of other card companies have started and gone out of business, the http://www.cashcards.net/ operation is a rather monumental success story. Here is the interview:

This was a message received by http://www.cashcards.net/ customers last month.

From Steve Renner http://www.cashcards.net/ :
Cash Cards is now the Primary Dealer for E-Gold. We have been approved to Bail Bars of E-Gold in and out of the system. So if you have a large quantity of e-gold - 100 oz or more please contact us for special "Out-Exchange" Rates!

(Q) Steve, give us some good news! What does that mean "Primary Dealer" ?
Hi Mark, Yes thanks for asking, we have been approved to be the Primary Dealer for e-gold, essentially taking over the function previously preformed by OmniPay. We are the Exchange Service for the Exchange Services.

(Q) Can you tell us what this new arrangement with e-gold means for users?
This means that e-gold will become liquid again, and customers can feel confident in using e-gold as a method of payment knowing they can always sell their e-gold at any time.

(Q) What might your additional buying and selling do for liquidity in the e-gold marketplace?
This should make trading e-gold faster and easier for users, and encourage more people to use e-gold again as a chosen method of payment.

(Q) To out exchange e-gold through your company today, what is my rate on a $5,000 sell?
Currently Out Exchange is running at 15%. $5,000.00 would be $750.00

(Q) Can you forecast that e-gold exchange rates might drop in the coming months?
This should reduce the exchange rates to back to levels they were at previously in the 3% - 5% range.

(Q) For how many years has http://www.cashcards.net/ been in continuous operation?
We originally started back in 1998 providing Internet Services. Cash Cards International, LLC was incorporated in 2001.

(Q) Your debit card products are the longest running card in e-currency history. Many other cards have come and gone. What fuels your success?
We are here for the long term. We pioneered this concept and understand the Card industry, and we understand the Digital Currency. Most of the other competitors have no clue what it takes to run a Card Service business. They get a fast reseller account with some provider who does not understand the Digital Currency business and end up out of business in a short time.

(Q) What is the most popular product at http://www.cashcards.net/ ?
Obviously our Core Business is providing Cash Cards which can be funded with Digital Currency. We are the leaders in this niche market.

(Q) Do you offer an affiliate program for those of us wanting to earn with you?
Yes we have a 2-Tier affiliate program which pays $20 on Direct Sales of our cards and $10 on Indirect Sales.

(Q) I see that your cards are listed in the Liberty Reserve directory. I know they have gotten really popular in the past year. How much of your monthly business comes from Liberty Reserve exchanges?
Liberty Reserve has gained in popularity recently. They have a good system, and seem to be managed well. I expect to see growth in Liberty Reserve Exchange. Another popular Digital Currency is E-Bullion.

(Q) How many card products does your company offer at this time?
We have been offering 2 main Card products:

* Our Classic Card which is strictly an ATM debit card.
* Our Premium Card which is essentially a Pre-Paid Credit Card.

(Q) Do many customers get your Visa Card or is most of your business strictly the ATM cards?
We pioneered the Digital Currency to Debit Card back in 2001. We first introduced Digital to Prepaid Credit Cards in 2005. Since then there has been a lot of overlap in the 2 cards, and since the pricing is nearly the same we have decided to phase out the debit card. We have now consolidated our service to offer just one card, our Premium Cash Card! And by the way, our Cash Cards have the Master Card Logo.

(Q) What e-currencies do you accept for loading or exchange to a card?
Currently we accept e-gold, Liberty Reserve, E-Bullion and V-Cash. Customers can also fund their cards with Bank Wire or Money Order.

(Q) Do the cards work outside the US?
Yes, they are International.

(Q) This news, that e-gold has a quality-established new primary dealer. However, you chose not to put out a big time press release and seek additional news on this event. Why not?
We are waiting to get the Exchange process running smoothly before we make a major announcement. Right now we are in the approval process to Out Exchange 2 Bars from the e-gold system.

(Q) Are you confident that the e-gold company will survive and continue their operations in the years ahead?
We are confident that e-gold has the physical gold in place to back the digital credits in the system. The court has allowed them to continue operations, for the benefit of the users of the system. This to us was enough of a vote of confidence to agree to accept the role as the Primary Dealer. As in many cases in the court system, (Like Bankruptcy) outside companies will step in to perform certain functions normally handled by the company. This is the way I see our role here.

It will remain to be seen if the company will survive for the long term, this will be ultimately decided in the legal system. But for now, our goal is to make sure that no Legitimate e-gold customer is left out in the cold with no way to Out Exchange their Digital Credits.

(Q) Are the CashCard products and operation considered a US business?
Yes we are a Minnesota Corporation.

(Q) Do you follow US compliance, regulations and the rules created by the Patriot Act for all US customers?
Yes, we screen our customer database weekly through the World Tracker Database software. We also have proprietary screening process on all our customers to detect and prevent fraud, and protect the integrity of our service. We cooperate with Law enforcement, Postal Inspectors, FBI, US Courts and Courts Of Legal Jurisdictions.

(Q) Your company also operates the e-currency V-cash. How long has V-cash been around?
V-Cash was started in 2001.

(Q) Does V-cash have independent exchange agents?
No not officially, but anyone is free to trade it.

(Q) Does V-cash have many online merchants accepting the e-currency?
There are a few, but we do not actively promote it at this time. Our long range plan is to take V-Cash more main stream in head to head competition with Pay Pal as a standard method of Online Payment.

(Q) Is your debit card loading automated? In other words if I sell e-currency, does it appear right away on my card?
No you have to physically make a load request to your card. Then we load the cards on a daily basis.

(Q) Do you have a target market you cater to with the V-cash product?
Yes we provide payment services for individuals and businesses which allow them to make payments around the world in real time which can be placed on a Cash Card and used to make purchases or drawn out in the local currency.

(Q) Does CashCards only rely on affiliate marketing or does the company also do any sort of mainstream advertising?
We use strictly word of mouth advertising.

(Q) Why with the potential legal issues e-gold is facing did you decide at this point in the game, to become more involved?

This is to help our customers, who have monies tied up in e-gold and need to get it back out of the system. We have gone as far as we can go in advancing money to our customers. Someone had to step up and take responsibility for ensuring people get their money. As I see it, e-gold and digital currency itself is not on trial, this has become a Mainstream Accepted way of doing business. (Look At Ebay/Pay Pal) The main problem is, as with any system (like our Banking System), outside people abusing the system for illegal purposes. Money Laundering, Drugs, Gambling, Pornography, etc.. etc...

(Q) I know you have tremendous experience with Internet marketing, what else are you working on in that area readers might want to learn about?
Over the years we have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise in Internet Marketing. We have expanded our core business to include other Internet Services including:

* Web Hosting
* Email Marketing/Auto-Responder
* Directory Listing
* Linking Services
* Blog Services
* Online Training Services

The company is called iNet Global and we have a "Killer" Affiliate program that you could really make some money with... http://www.inetglobal.com

(Q) If I wanted to become a CashCards affiliate, how do I get signed up as an affiliate and how much can I make?
Anyone can sign up as a Cash Cards Member, it?s Free. Members are automatically enrolled in our Affiliate Program. You can potentially earn money but there are no guarantees.

(Q) I read an article you wrote entitled, "Modeling Success". You say a smart way to finding business success is to study successful people and ?model? them or build a similar. It was very good advice.
Thank You!

(Q) Can you share with us the people you model in your own life?
I have modeled Jimi Hendrix, He?s my idol. Stevie Ray Vaughn is one of my hero?s too. You might have guessed I?m a blues guitarist. Internet Marketing is just my Day Job.

(Q) You have written a lots of articles recommending gold coins which do you prefer the actual gold coins or digital gold locked away in a secure foreign located vault?
On a smaller scale I like coins, because I can hold on to them, as opposed to Digital Credits that represent gold in a vault somewhere.

But they are not practical all the time. At some point you would have to have them.

(Q) A lot of people have been predicting dome and gloom for the US economy. However, I can?t find any articles by you that might forecast economic depression. Where do you see the US economy headed in the next 2-3 years?
I am not an economist, but I see hard times ahead for a lot of people. I see the entire economy moving online. People will work from home, or wherever they are on their computers as opposed to commuting to a building somewhere.

Those business that fail to adapt will go the way of the Buggy Whip company. They will just no longer be viable. Now is the time to learn everything you can about Online Business. and Internet Marketing.
Your future and your children?s future depends on it.

I'd like to thank Steve for answering my questions and wish him best of luck with CashCards.net.