World Chambers Network launches e-Club

An exclusive online service has been launched by the World Chambers Network, which offers businesses a measure of security regarding their clients' credentials.

While governments and technology vendors are working frantically to find a way of authenticating emails, the e-Club's approach to trust uses the model of a gentleman's club.

Tim Metz, spokesperson for IBNet, which manages the centre, said: "e-Club gives reasonable confidence that the flaky businesses people who often crop up are filtered out. Our customers are people who need real assurance that the communication is genuine."

The company claims it offers specific and direct sales leads to interested customers. Businesses pay $28 per month to advertise a service in e-Club's online database. The posting is then emailed to other members, in accordance with their preferences.

More than 120 local chambers of commerce from six continents have already signed up. The six UK participants include Portsmouth and Leicester chambers of commerce.

IBNet's CEO, Myrna Weiss, said the service will give small businesses a leg-up too, as clients cannot specify what size of supplier they are interested in. "The size of the business is normally anything from $1m annual turnover to $100m," she said.

IBNet gets a fixed, and undisclosed, percentage of membership fees, but local chambers can charge what they like to members, added Weiss.