[CBE] Citizens Bank of Entropia open for business!

[Akoz]

That's right!

Starting Monday 28th of May the Citizens Bank of Entropia aka CBE will start providing loans to the inhabitants of Calypso and beyond.

We do NOT have a big expensive shop
We do NOT have support available 24/7

Instead we have

Low interest and minimal fees!
Prime time opening hours every day of the week!
Representatives both at Calypso and CND every day!
Competent market analysts to determine the value of YOUR item!
Ability to lend up to 90% of your items market value!


Who are we?
We are currently three people working with the CBE project.
If you want to deal with us it is important that you before any trade make certain you are really dealing with one of our representatives and not a hustler. The ideal way to do this is to use a scanner and make sure the stats matches one of these:

Representative 1
Full ingame name: Teilk Teilk Teilk
Agility: 65 (for scanning)
Retired miner

Representative 2
Full ingame name: Cindy Cindy wood
Agility: 98 (for scanning)
Old member of shaolin.

Representative 3:
Full ingame name: Modified Akoz Power
Agility: 119 (for scanning)
ex-everything.

I will personally take care of all loans above 100k.
I would never work with people I did not fully trust, but should anything for any reason happen to your item I fully guarantee the return of this or an identical item.


What are the prices?
We distinguish between short and long term loans

For short term loans (that is loans for less than one week) we charge a round 1% of the loaned amount per day.

For long term loans we charge 5% for the first week. 4% for the next, 3% for the third, 2% for the fourth and 1% per week after that.

Interest for short term loans can be paid as you collect your item.
For long term loans interest should be paid once a week or after appointment (*).

For all loans a 25 ped setup fee is applied.


Where are we?
For CND we will have one representative either at the control room or at the north TP of main every day between 21:00 and 22:00 MA time.

At calypso our base of operations will for the moment be Twin Peaks.
We will be present there at the times specified in the next post by cindywood.



Please take notice!
We have not paid for an official license by MindArk and are therefor NOT going to be using the soon to be implemented pawn system by MindArk. Therefor MindArk can NOT guarantee your items safety by using our service. We however can and will.

[EDITS:]
27/5: We ranamed to Citizens Bank of Entropia
28/5: Service fee changed to 25 ped.
28/5: Calypso opening hours moved to the next post by cindywood.
28/5: Opening hours changed.
29/5: Added clearification regarding license on request.
4/6: Closed down (hopefully temporary) due to new rules expressed in the following thread:
https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69949

 

[Cindywood]

Here I will notify changes in open hours and if I will be unavailable some day.
Note that this only covers me.



Monday 17.00-18.00 and 20.00 - 21.00
Tuesday 17.00-18.00 and 20.00 - 21.00
Wednesday 07.00-08.00 and 13.00 - 14.00
Thursday 17.00-18.00 and 20.00 - 21.00
Friday 17.00-18.00 and 20.00 - 21.00
Saturday and Sunday: Yet to be determined

These times might be subject to change at a later time.

Edits: Small change in opening hours.

 

[Dunn]

i really hope you bring the other banks out of business with this venture, good going

 

[sob]

good luck on your new business

good to see you back on track teilk!

 

[Teilk]

To clarify a bit:

Our bank does not have to pay MA a fee for the honor of making a PvP loan. We have no huge investment to recover. This will allow us a very competitive edge, with regards to people who spent a large amount of money for a building. Thats what they paid for. Thats what they expect you to pay for eventually.

We have no such expectations.

Gamers Bank of Entropia ​

For Gamers, By Gamers​

 

[Etopia]

We will now see soon the reply to the question :
Will MA lock people that offer banking system without paying for a liscence.
And that will probably create an other question :
What is the point to buy a liscence if people without liscence can provide same service...

The game part of EU is getting boring since MA dont improve it much , but the economie part is thrilling , not because i take part , but because its as fun as looking a good soccer match.

 

[Akoz]

We will now see soon the reply to the question :
Will MA lock people that offer banking system without paying for a liscence.
And that will probably create an other question :
What is the point to buy a liscence if people without liscence can provide same service...

The game part of EU is getting boring since MA dont improve it much , but the economie part is thrilling , not because i take part , but because its as fun as looking a good soccer match.

What they paid for is a bank with NPCs available 24/7 to provide loans with items secured in a vault. They get an automated system for pricing and item management.

[Edit: for a more in-detail description check Neos post below]

Is that worth 1 mill peds? imo no.
However we do not break any current rules in the EULA. If MA intended to forbid running pawn shops/loan services without a license I am confident they would mention it there.

Until they do or by other means express our business is unwanted the CBE will be up and running.

 

[Etopia]

What they paid for is a bank with NPCs available 24/7 to provide loans with items secured in a vault. They get an automated system for pricing and item management.

Is that worth 1 mill peds? imo no.
However we do not break any current rules in the EULA. If MA intended to forbid running pawn shops/loan services without a license I am confident they would mention it there.

Until they do or by other means express our business is unwanted the GBE will be up and running.

I dont care rule , what people pay for and MA eula...
I just count point and laught ...
Sometime , during a soccer match , som player cheat , som other do insult to make oposant do a fault,som take drugs or dope, som other go see the M.I.B and complain about this or that.
It still very funy to watch , if you dont have make bet on who will win ...

 

[serialkillah]

Sounds like a nice idea. What i see there is allready couple "bank" like this. But the main problen is the fee. They allways charge more than you guys now.
So what i see is good service with trusted names. Gl guys i maeby be your customers sometimes

 

[Jenny]

To clarify a bit:

We have no huge investment to recover. This will allow us a very competitive edge, with regards to people who spent a large amount of money for a building. Thats what they paid for. Thats what they expect you to pay for eventually.

We have no such expectations.

Marvelous business savvy, this will increase the competitiveness of the other banks too when they're implemented. Good luck!

 

[Vap0r]

Good idea, should be interesting to see if MA responds in a positive light

 

[dbelinfante]

We will now see soon the reply to the question :
Will MA lock people that offer banking system without paying for a liscence.
And that will probably create an other question :
What is the point to buy a liscence if people without liscence can provide same service...

The game part of EU is getting boring since MA dont improve it much , but the economie part is thrilling , not because i take part , but because its as fun as looking a good soccer match.

I'm wondering if there's a difference in guarantee. If the officially licensed banks go bankrupt somehow, or they lose my Foeripper laugh: I wish) by accident somehow, or whatever else goes wrong, who is there to answer to me? What is the added value of the OL banks as opposed to this new service, or the other ones that exist?

 

[neomaven]

What they paid for is a bank with NPCs available 24/7 to provide loans with items secured in a vault. They get an automated system for pricing and item management.

Is that worth 1 mill peds? imo no.

They buyers of the banking licenses paid for much more than just a building and a 24/7 NPC.

They paid for a fully automated and secure system by which to make secured loans. Also, these licenses are explicitly and fully recognized by Mindark. Of course, if the license owner also has some real-world business and/or financial services license, they perhaps will be able to offer additional services.

But let's discuss "player operated" banks (i.e. not RL banks or such, but "regular" players such as Akoz, Teilk, Neverdie, etc.)


From what I can envision how the banking license holder loan system will likely function, all of the terms of a loan, such as length, interest rate, amount loaned vs. various items etc. will be displayed up front, and probably also at all times while the loan is active (I seem to recall mention of some kind of loan voucher or something).

Most importantly, these terms will be automatically enforced by the automated system; there can be no disagreements about the terms of the loan, amount of interest to be paid etc. A loan service operating without a banking license does not have these security mechanisms (neither for lender nor borrower). I can easily envision a dispute:

Lender claims that the agreed-upon interest rate was X%, while the borrower is certain that it was less than X%. Borrower refuses to pay the extra interest fee, lender refuses to return collateralized item, a massive debate erupts on the forum, etc. etc.
​

Of course, screenshots and such might help to avoid or resolve such issues, but only to a point. These types of disputes can never happen when using the "approved" loan services.

Also, note that there is a large amount of trust that is required in the use of "ad hoc" loan services, in both directions.

With the "sanctioned" banking licenses, the secured item will be securely stored in a vault until the loan (+ interest due) is paid, or the loan expires. Thus, there is zero chance that the borrower will lose his item.

This protection does not exist with the ad hoc services; if the lender decides to use the item, accidentally TTs it, loses it, his computer gets hacked, his girlfriend steals it, whatever, the item might be lost.

Akoz and his associates have very good reputations in the community, and in no way am I implying that such things are likely to happen.

I am simply comparing the relative value and security of loan services between the "approved" and "ad hoc" versions, and debating the accuracy of Akoz' statement that the only difference is

a bank with NPCs available 24/7 to provide loans with items secured in a vault

 

[steffel]

trust: check
price: check

gl with the biz, looks very promising. seems like some serious competition for license bankers

 

[fresco]

cool!
we got pawnshops last week, now getting loansharks

JUST KIDDING

 

[RidingDirty]

How much can I borrow if I leave my soul as collateral?

Great idea! I used Teilks loanservice as he was still providing it in order to be able to craft even the last days before payday. Everything worked out great.

I got no doubt that this will end up fine, and it will be interesting to watch the competition with the other banks.

 

[buckaroobanzai]

I agree with Neo, however the secure built-in system (which is the strong selling point for the bank licences) is also a weak point when "personalized" agreements are needed.
I see market opportunities for both undertakings: mainstream banking with simple and straightforward (and secured) transactions from the licensees, personalized deals (private banking style) from the spontaneous entrapreneurs. It is however true that (not having to cope with the licence upfront cost) businesses like GBE could offer more competive conditions than licensed banks.

BBB

They buyers of the banking licenses paid for much more than just a building and a 24/7 NPC.

They paid for a fully automated and secure system by which to make secured loans. Also, these licenses are explicitly and fully recognized by Mindark. Of course, if the license owner also has some real-world business and/or financial services license, they perhaps will be able to offer additional services.

But let's discuss "player operated" banks (i.e. not RL banks or such, but "regular" players such as Akoz, Teilk, Neverdie, etc.)


From what I can envision how the banking license holder loan system will likely function, all of the terms of a loan, such as length, interest rate, amount loaned vs. various items etc. will be displayed up front, and probably also at all times while the loan is active (I seem to recall mention of some kind of loan voucher or something).

Most importantly, these terms will be automatically enforced by the automated system; there can be no disagreements about the terms of the loan, amount of interest to be paid etc. A loan service operating without a banking license does not have these security mechanisms (neither for lender nor borrower). I can easily envision a dispute:

Lender claims that the agreed-upon interest rate was X%, while the borrower is certain that it was less than X%. Borrower refuses to pay the extra interest fee, lender refuses to return collateralized item, a massive debate erupts on the forum, etc. etc.
​

Of course, screenshots and such might help to avoid or resolve such issues, but only to a point. These types of disputes can never happen when using the "approved" loan services.

Also, note that there is a large amount of trust that is required in the use of "ad hoc" loan services, in both directions.

With the "sanctioned" banking licenses, the secured item will be securely stored in a vault until the loan (+ interest due) is paid, or the loan expires. Thus, there is zero chance that the borrower will lose his item.

This protection does not exist with the ad hoc services; if the lender decides to use the item, accidentally TTs it, loses it, his computer gets hacked, his girlfriend steals it, whatever, the item might be lost.

Akoz and his associates have very good reputations in the community, and in no way am I implying that such things are likely to happen.

I am simply comparing the relative value and security of loan services between the "approved" and "ad hoc" versions, and debating the accuracy of Akoz' statement that the only difference is

 

[Gray Darkman]

Well the question might arise also what if MA goes bellyup..I would put my trust in AKOZ and people that I know play the game before I would put it into NPC's and automated systems..Seems to me automated systems go down too..just like the deposit system problems, cash card problems...I think its a great idea AKoz and Co. and look forward to never having to use it..But if I do I like knowing its there..

 

[Solaris]

Good business plan

I wish you the best of luck in this venture. Just one question about this whole banking affair, keeps floating my head:

....

made another thread about this - not suitable here

 

[Dan59]

Bank licence owners:
-Trust: four of them have to earn that
-Confidence: no
-Gammers: exept ND, no
-Take away: yes

CBE by Akoz:
-Trust: yes
-Confidence: yes
-Gammers: yes
-Take away: after 5 years of investments hard to say for one who love EU so im inclined to say no.

 

[Nicko]

cool initiative, only negative thing i can is that the service is called the same as Neverdie's bank? may create some confusion

good luck!

 

[Master-superlou]

Nice idea guys, but those guys who bought those deeds must have known that something like this would happen, meaning that there must be an agreement where this is not allowed when banks are put in place.

Ty Super lou

 

[Teilk]

Nice idea guys, but those guys who bought those deeds must have known that something like this would happen, meaning that there must be an agreement where this is not allowed when banks are put in place.

Ty Super lou

As stated earlier, this in no way shape or form violates the EULA. Also as stated earlier, the people paid for a building, an NPC, and MA's own system of securing the loans, for both lender and lendee.

 

[Tzepu]

well, good idea but maybe another name would have been better

http://www.bankneverdie.com/
some TM there

 

[Vap0r]

Aye, it is trademarked lol

 

[Roliz]

well, good idea but maybe another name would have been better

http://www.bankneverdie.com/
some TM there

True but in good faith to TMs, GBE (Gamers Bank of Entropia) is nothing like The Gamers Bank.
For some reason I have a hunch that these banking licenses are going to have a hard time competing against this idea let alone doing good on business at all.
#1 Reason= How does an "Automated NPC: Accurately value an item... It can't. (Even if it runs through auction tt+)
#2 Reason= The "licensed banks" are going to be hard pressed to beat the rates.

 

[Deathifier]

Interesting initiative Akoz and co.

It has some advantages (interest rate, personalisation) and disadvantages (accessibility, trust) compared to the official "banks" and it will be interesting to see what happens whenever the proper "banks" actually arrive.

well, good idea but maybe another name would have been better

http://www.bankneverdie.com/
some TM there

If NEVERDIE believes it infringes on his Trademark he can take appropriate action to defend it.

- Deathifier

 

[Marco|SDS]

The only banking services supported by MindArk is the ones coming with the virtual banking licenses, which have full support and maximum security for both parties involved in the loan.

This doesn't mean other ventures such as desscribed above are un-authorized, only that if anything would happen during such dealings, MindArk will not offer support - as in, "all trades are final" (as they are considered trades, not "loans").

(I am not sure about the usage of the word "bank" though, it may very well be that it is to be a reserved term in Entropia for the virtual banking license holders, so may I suggest a pre-emptive move to change it?)

 

[Konve]

The only banking services supported by MindArk is the ones coming with the virtual banking licenses, which have full support and maximum security for both parties involved in the loan.

This doesn't mean other ventures such as desscribed above are un-authorized, only that if anything would happen during such dealings, MindArk will not offer support - as in, "all trades are final" (as they are considered trades, not "loans").

(I am not sure about the usage of the word "bank" though, it may very well be that it is to be a reserved term in Entropia for the virtual banking license holders, so may I suggest a pre-emptive move to change it?)

Any coment on the fact that, by Swedish law, you must have a "license" to run a pawnshop?

...The Participant acknowledges and agrees that he or she will not use the Entropia Universe for any illegal purpose according to any law, local, national or international...

This Agreement is to be governed by, construed and enforced according to the laws of Sweden...

 

[sahel]

I am not sure about the usage of the word "bank" though, it may very well be that it is to be a reserved term in Entropia for the virtual banking license holders, so may I suggest a pre-emptive move to change it?

Think it will be hard to censor or 'reserve' the word Bank for a select few. Instead the licence owners could just use descriptions like 'MA approved Banks', 'Official Banks', 'Secured Banks', or maybe an MA 'stamp of approval'.

I think that limiting other to not use the word Bank is quite a big limit, and should be avoided if possible.