BitPass

Infobox_Company
company_name = Bitpass, Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = Mountain View, California (2002)
location = San Mateo, California, USA
key_people = Kurt Huang, Founder
Doug Knopper, CEO

industry = Consumer Internet,
Digital content,
Online payments

products = Bitpass buyer account,
Bitpass Professional merchant account,
Bitpass Studio merchant account

revenue = undisclosed

num_employees = undisclosed

homepage = [http://www.bitpass.com/ www.bitpass.com]

Bitpass was an online payment system for digital content and services. Kurt Huang was a co-founder; Doug Knopper was hired as CEO in November, 2005. Bitpass was a California corporation with headquarters in Silicon Valley. It was founded in December, 2002 and partnered with major technology and financial services companies such as Microsoft, PayPal, the Royal Bank of Scotland and First Data.

On January 19th, 2007 Bitpass announced that they were shutting down, and operations officially closed on January 26th, 2007. No immediate reason for closure was given.

For the content buyer, Bitpass worked like a pre-paid telephone card: the buyer signed up for the service and put money into an account using a credit card or PayPal. This stored-value amount could be used to purchase digital content or services.

Transaction fees were paid by the content provider. For payments under $5, the charge was 15% of the price paid by the buyer (Bitpass Professional merchant account fee).

Email Announcing Shut Down

From: Bitpass Inc. (mailto:[e-mail])
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 5:52 PM
To:
Subject: Bitpass is Discontinuing Service

Dear Valued Bitpass Buyer,

We want to thank you for your past business, however due to circumstances beyond our control, we are discontinuing our operations.

We have partnered with Digital River to provide operational support during the period prior to shut down. As of today, January 19, 2007, all Bitpass Buyers with US dollar denominated accounts are being notified that they will have seven (7) days to spend any amounts that currently exist in their Bitpass Account.

During this seven day period, US Buyers will not be able to further fund their account.

On January 26, all US Bitpass Buyer accounts will be closed and Digital River will begin the process of refunding all unspent monies to the accountholder.

All account records and materials will be retained for 60 days and available upon request.

Again we would like to thank you for your business and support.

Matthew Graves
Chief Operating Officer
Bitpass Inc.

External links

* [http://www.bitpass.com Bitpass site]
* [http://www.scottmccloud.com/home/essays/2003-09-micros/micros.html Misunderstanding Micropayments] - article by cartoonist Scott McCloud about micropayments and Bitpass