The
Internet had, until recently, not had
much direct impact on the conduct of
offshore business from Aruba.
However,
the market for telecommunications in
Aruba has been liberalized. Besides
SETAR N.V. (Servicio di Telecomunicacion
di Aruba), as the first provider of
telecommunications there are two private
companies that have obtained a licence
to operate a mobile phone network. SETAR
N.V. being the first provider on the
island, provides most of the telecommunications
services.
There
are also additional internet service
providers and high speed internet is
available. However, broadband is expensive
compared with other countries; at the
time of writing an ADSL service with
a 3mbps download capacity costs about
160 Af per month.
Nonetheless,
the telecommunication infrastructure
of Aruba has advanced in recent years
and the island has both a fibre optic
and digital microwave network. Aruba
is also a landing point of the Pan American
Submarine Cable System, and is connected
with the world fibre optic network.
International calls can be made to all
countries in the world directly or via
international operator service.
SETAR
N.V. has a packet switching node for
credit card validation purposes and
additional data communication services.
In addition SETAR N.V. offers a mobile
communication infrastructure and a city-paging
system for tone, voice (mail), numeric
and alphanumeric options. A cellular
telephone and trunking system (public
mobile radio system) is also available.
Aruba
Offshore Activities
The natural bonding of the Internet and
Offshore stems from the fact that both,
of their nature, manage to avoid tax.
Businesses which can operate on the Internet
without, so to speak, touching ground
in a high-tax jurisdiction will naturally
migrate to offshore jurisdictions; while
business that already have offshore existence
will find it highly convenient to be able
to use the Internet to trade with their
high-tax customers without having to make
a landing in their countries.
As
a major offshore jurisdiction with more
than ten thousand of offshore enterprises
already installed, including many trading
companies, it is only a matter of time
before Aruba becomes a centre of e-commerce
activity. The island's geographical location,
its good telecommunications links and
sophisticated business infrastructure
add to the inevitability of an e-future
for Aruba.
In
September, 2005, First Atlantic Commerce
Ltd (FAC), a leading Bermuda-based e-Commerce
payment solutions provider, introduced
an innovative solution that offers companies
the ability to apply for merchant accounts
in both Europe and the Netherlands Antilles,
including Aruba, leveraging a single Dutch
corporate structure.
FAC’s
Kingdom of the Netherlands solution enables
merchants acquiring through FAC’s partner
banks in Europe and/or the Netherlands
Antilles or both - creating a dual acquiring
presence in the Latin America Caribbean
Region and the European Union.
“To
meet with the Card Associations cross
border compliance all merchants are required
to establish a corporate presence in the
same jurisdiction as their settlement
bank,” said FAC CEO Andrea Wilson. “Merchants
who establish a Dutch Company in the Netherlands
Antilles (Curacao, Sint Maarten or Aruba)
are then eligible to apply for merchant
accounts in both The Netherlands and the
Netherlands Antilles leveraging one single
Dutch corporate structure.”
FAC’s
solution provides merchants with the opportunity
to offer their customers a number of secure
payment choices including US Dollars,
Euros, Pounds Sterling, and Swiss Francs
with the merchant having the choice of
settlement jurisdictions within the LACR
and/or Europe.
FAC’s
Dutch Kingdom banking solution automatically
protects eligible merchants with Verified
By VISA and MasterCard SecureCode™ on
qualifying VISA and MasterCard transactions.
Based on the Card Associations’ 3-D Secure
™ technology, cGate®SecureVerify provides
merchants with protection from fraudulent
transactions, unauthorized payments and
chargeback liability shift.
FAC’s banking partners in Europe and the
Netherlands Antilles offer full Internet
banking services enabling merchants to
easily and securely manage their accounts.
First Atlantic Commerce is headquartered
in Bermuda, and was established in 1998
to create secure card based payment solutions
for e-businesses, FAC provides powerful
technology designed to work with most
merchant platforms, including Microsoft®,
UNIX, and LINUX platforms. FAC’s cGate®
technology offers state-of-the-art service,
flexibility and security to adapt to many
business and bank acquirer requirements.
Business solutions such as 3-D Secure™
Payer Authentication, Virtual Corporations
and offshore multi-currency payment solutions
are available in the LACR and Europe.
In
May 2008, Mio, a fast growing provider
of broadband mobile communication services
in the Caribbean Islands, has announced
that it would soon be launching mobile
voice, broadband Internet access and WiMax
services in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.
Mio
claimed that it would be the first in
the Caribbean to offer affordable unlimited
wireless broadband Internet access and
voice plans.
High
Speed Wireless Broadband will further
enable new IP (Internet Protocol) services
such as static IP addresses, VoIP (Voice
over IP), hosted and managed services,
video on demand, video conferencing, web
hosting, and many other services to be
offered. Additionally, it does not require
a landline as ADSL does.
Marc
Dinee, VP of Sales and Marketing at the
Mio Group, stated at the time of the announcement
that: "Mio is determined to meet
the needs of the various segments in the
Caribbean market and, in that vein, we
will be unveiling a number of other new
products and services targeting these
segments over the next several months.
We are very excited to introduce our offerings
of mobile voice, data, and broadband services
to consumers and businesses in these islands.
Our services provide our customers with
always-on connectivity and high quality
reliable services."
For information about the impact of e-commerce
on a number of the main offshore activities
which take place in the Aruba, click
on a link below to go to our specialist
E-commerce site Offshore-e-com.com
Sales and Distribution of Physical Products
Sales
and Distribution of Digital Products
Banking
and Financial Services (including Investment
Funds)
Corporate
Support Functions
To
see an analysis of the current state of
legal and tax issues surrounding offshore
e-commerce, click
here.
BACK
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Aruba Case Studies
This section will contain case studies
of e-commerce solutions applied to offshore
business activities carried out from Aruba.To
be kept updated as to our progress click
here.
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