UPDATE: Well, well, look what I’ve found. Before you read ahead I STRONGLY suggest you read this article
It casts serious doubts on the whole Numox enterprise! Read it carefully before you decide to use Numox. Having read it I came to the conclusion that Numox is not a safe place to store value.
*Kudos to Mark Herpel from DGC Magazine for letting me know about this article*
Good day e-currency enthusiasts. Today I am going to take you through a review of a new player on the e-currency scene called Numox. Numox Ltd. is a legally registered entity of the Republic of Seychelles, registered on 17 of July 2006 with company number 029556. NUMOX and NUMOX.com are entirely owned and operated by Numox Ltd.
The company’s registered address is the following:
Numox Ltd.
C/O COTE D’AZUR-MAHE
Trinity House 1st Floor,Albert Street
Victoria, Mahe POBOX1402
Seychelles
907693637 Fax —
*If you live in Seychelles or are knowledgeable in the offshore world and you’d like to help me out a bit by verifying Numox’s corporate address and company registration number please get in touch with me – use the e-mail in the “About” page at the top *
Looking at the DNS record for numox.com we can learn that it was created on the date of Feb 25, 2005 – one year before Numox Ltd. became incorporated. Alright, let’s get into some detail about Numox and see what it has to offer.
What does Numox offer?
Numox touts the following string of benefits:
- Always 100% backed by gold, other precious metals and risk-free financial securities
- Trusted global payment system and real-time electronic currency in one
- Fully offshore operated
- Instant and irreversible transactions (no more fraud or chargebacks)
- No fees – you can choose who pays the fees
- Multilevel Referral and Affiliate program
- Send funds by e-mail
- Escrow service, Mass payments, Request payments
- Coming Soon: NUMOX Debit Cards directly linked to your account
- Offer free affiliate revenue sharing program for your products and services
The gold backing is the first thing that caught my eye about Numox. This is great news for digital gold currency fans as another competitor on the scene not only gives consumers more choice but it should also push competitors to offer better services and lower service fees. Another plus in my book for Numox is the fact that they’re 100% offshore. After the legal nightmare e-gold went through (and now even prison sentences dished out to its principals) even a dullard will tell you that the United States is not a place where you’d want to start and operate an e-currency provider. Actually the number of countries that offer the necessary conditions for operating an e-currency provider are by far outnumbered by the ones that do not. Seychelles is a fairly good offshore location in my opinion. If Numox is indeed 100% offshore operated as they say, then in principle at least it should be very difficult for rapacious foreign government authorities to touch Numox.
The one thing that I do not understand about Numox’s business plan is the “risk-free financial securities” backing perhaps some or all of your Numox account. Just exactly what “risk-free” financial securities they have in mind is not made public. Do they intend to back the Numox e-currency with bonds, stocks? What exactly? My gut feeling tells me this is a bad idea. Backing an e-currency with something of intangible value is suspect and could prove financially ruinous. Let’s say a portion of your Numox funds are backed by some “blue chip” stock the Numox folks decide is “good enough” to actually be turned into a virtual currency. Now let’s imagine that for whatever reason the value of these assets on the market drops significantly or just tanks completely. You are basically left with worthless digital units – nothing but numbers in a computer database. Funny enough that’s what US dollars and other fiat currencies happen to be (used rather loosely – checkbook money), but I digress.
I think backing Numox with solid gold or other precious metals is by far a better idea than backing it with these so called “risk-free” financial securities. Risk free financial securities? What an oxymoron!
Also I would expect of Numox to eventually show a third party audited proof of actual gold backing.
How do I fund my Numox account?
You do it as you would with any existing e-currency, by visiting a “certified exchanger” and exchanging your fiat currency for Numox e-currency. At present there are 5 certified exchange agents available for you to use. They are the following: Ecash Services , EuroGoldExchanges , GoldNow , HyGold , Midas Gold Exchange
How do I withdraw money from my Numox account?
Just as easily as you deposited. You can use one of the above 5 certified exchangers and eventually later on you’ll also be able to use Numox’s own debit card solution.
What fees does Numox charge?
| Deposit money Only fees of our certified exchangers | FREE |
| Withdraw money Only fees of our certified exchangers | FREE |
| Send/Receive Money Ability to choose who pays the fees (sender, receiver, share fee with recipient 50:50) | 0,5% – max. 0,35 USD |
| Escrow Ability to choose who pays the fees (sender, receiver, share fee with recipient 50:50) | 1% – min. 0,50 USD |
| Mass Payment Ability to choose who pays the fees (sender, receiver, share fee with recipient 50:50). Fee per each recipient | 0,5% |
How functional is the Numox website?
My first impression upon logging into my Numox account was of surprise at the number of choices you have in the user menu to the left. Keep in mind that the whole Numox website and system is in “beta” mode so n doubt they’ll improve and streamline their website with time. But, so far I think the website is very well designed already and is quite functional. You have the major account functions available via buttons at the top of your account website and the rest of the more specific and advanced functions available to the left. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I made a screenshot of the Numox user interface. Check it out by clicking on the thumbnail below:
What level of security does Numox implement?
Numox implements a 2 stage security system. The first thing you have to input when you log in is your “PIN Code” Afterwards you are brought to the main login page where you’ll be asked to type in Numox username, your password (which you can also input via a secure virtual keyboard) and the – these days mandatory – turing code. Once you’ve satisfied these security requirements you’re taken directly to your account page.
Does Numox have DDoS protection?
Distributed denial of service attacks are becoming more prevalent these days, and these attacks have become the bane of many popular websites. They cause lengthy interruptions in a website’s services by flooding it with traffic beyond the intended or reasonably expected level. Thankfully Numox does employ DDoS protection offered so at least in theory DDoS attacks shouldn’t shut them down.
Does Numox offer a shopping cart or API?
Yes it does. I’m not a coder so I can’t tell comment much on their implementation, so I encourage you to visit visit Numox’s website and sign-up for an account if you want to find out more. They have PHP, ASP, and .NET code samples and other such documentation.
Conclusion
There you have it folks. Another e-currency makes its debut and is inkling to dominate the e-currency world. Will Numox thrive or will be crushed by competition or by some “outside influence” ? Your guess is as good as mine, but for now Numox appears like a promising startup and I wish it the best of luck.
Those of you who wish to open up a Numox account are invited to visit their website over here.
Thanks for your attention!
Oh, I almost forgot. I also started a thread on my forum so we can discuss all things Numox related. Check it out over here:
http://www.moneyguruforum.com/other-e-currencies/14703-numox.html
Cheers,
Alan