Payza

Here in the United States, everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And when we say “everyone,” we mean “everyone”...even companies like Payza (a Montreal-founded, London-based PayPal-type organization), which has been indicted by a federal grand jury for financial crimes.

Yes, it’s true: there is a presumption of innocence, even in cases where the company charges a minimum of $8 for every credit card transaction, and randomly experiences “technical difficulties” that freeze its clients’ funds while still somehow managing to charge them interest. Yep, justice is blind, even when a business is accused of operating without any of the required licensing, and even when its parent company is a largely unknown entity called MH Pillars, Ltd. Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat, and all that jazz, even when the company’s U.S. and European websites are, as of 2019, 100% inactive, and no one knows how to get their money out.

But anyway, what were we saying? Ah, yes—Payza. Founded in Montreal as AlertPay in 2004, acquired by the mysterious MH Pillars, Ltd. In 2012. As we mentioned, it’s a PayPal-type company: people could set up Payza accounts for free and use the accounts to send money back and forth (Payza was crazy popular with the remittance crowd) and all fees were paid by the money receiver. It’s a good business model in theory—just look at PayPal—but Payza just seemed to have some real problems with execution…and with following the law. Allegedly.

Will it manage to resurrect itself and get back in business? Only time—and court proceedings—will tell. Oh, and btw: “the burden of proof is on the one who declares, not the one who denies.” That’s what all that Latin says.