Planet Payment (www.planetpayment.com), an Internet payment solution provider based in New York, and MeetChina.com (www.MeetChina.com) announced an agreement in winter of 1999 whereby MeetChina.com will offer Planet Payment global e-commerce payment solutions to China's burgeoning e-businesses. Planet Payment and MeetChina.com can now offer one-stop-e-commerce services to businesses reaching out to global markets. Chinese merchants can go online to set up their e-business website and accept multi-currency credit card payments online, in real time, through Planet Payment's gateway.

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Good Long-term Future

Planet Payment provides one-stop Internet payment solutions, including credit card merchant accounts and payment gateway services. Through the buy page, Planet Payment transfers the credit card information of cardholders to the credit card associations for payment authorization. Planet Payment then clears funds from the card issuing bank and has the transaction settled in a major currency of the merchant's choice.

Planet Payment's payment gateway is powered by Authorize.net, which is the most reliable gateway service provider in the United States.

Our partnership with MeetChina.com will help speed the growth of e-commerce in China, a country with an already remarkable reputation for trade? Says Philip Beck, Chief Executive Office of Planet Payment. Planet Payment fits into the range of services MeetChina.com offers Chinese businesses, giving companies the ability to sell direct to overseas buyers through the Internet?stated by Tom Rosenthal, President of MeetChina.com.

When this reporter asked how Planet Payment assesses the Chinese credit card market, Dr. Mitch Leventhal, Vice President of Strategic Planning at Planet Payment indicated that though credit cards are not widely used in China now, there's a great market in the near future. Rather then just concentrating on current opportunities, Planet Payment is focused on China's long-term market potential.

**The first step into the China Market

The Chinese banking system and financial market are far behind international standards, which means there is a huge growing space. Rather than setting up our own China-based company, we believe strong partnerships are the most efficient way to develop the Chinese market for Planet Payment.?Said Dr. Leventhal.

Regarding why selected MeetChina as a Planet payment's partner, Dr. Leventhal indicated that MeetChina's e-commerce portal, co-produced by MeetChina.com and the Electronic Information Center of China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII), is China's largest cross-border trade site. As China's only wholly-owned foreign enterprise licensed to conduct business on the Internet, MeetChina.com has been designated China's official online gateway to international business. MeetChina's position is so important and special that Planet payment was pleased to work with MeetChina as its first step to China's e-commerce market.

The Internet is growing fast. However, change in China is more rapid than anywhere else in the world.?Dr. Leventhal said. Cooperation with one company is not enough. Cooperation between a number of big Chinese Internet companies and Planet Payment is also under discussion.

Established more than a year ago, Planet Payment is growing extremely rapidly. By the end of 1999, their service has covered 85 countries with choices of 19 currencies. Their business goal in 2000 is to provide Internet transaction service with more than 100 currencies in more than 100 countries. They will target a global wide customer base and plan to increase their merchants to 100,000 in two years. The number of subscribed merchants is doubling every month.

Dr. Leventhal is confident of the future of China and the company: The WTO agreement combined with enthusiastic support on import-export from Chinese government is the fundamental basis for our business development in China. I believe in China and have a bullish about its future.?

View the original article (in Chinese), Silicon Valley Journal