Richard Branson, the high-profile founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, believes his internet service Virgin Net will be able to give software giant Microsoft Corp a very serious run for its money. Virgin Net has acquired some 80,000 users in its first year of business, growing at a rate of 2,000 new subscribers a week. Branson has unveiled plans to put all his business interests on the internet, starting with the Virgin Mega Store record shop, the aim being to have a list of every possible available album. The company has clearly identified and acted on the money making potential present in the electronic commerce business, but believes the only way people will buy online is if goods are cheaper and the retail experience offers some element of excitement. Virgin Net was primarily established to address the needs of UK internet users as Virgin wanted to enable users to have access to a service that isn’t geared towards the US. Over the next 12 months the company will put all of its business interests, including music, travel, and banking on the internet, the first of which will appear in the New Year. Branson has also revealed that the Virgin banking service will go online, a move he believes will herald the demise of the high street bank as we know it today. The service will be made available to a wider audience in January, expanding from its current telephone format to online, and the company will issue a credit card that can be used in other banks’ ATM machines. Virgin estimates a banking transaction on the internet is 1/100th of the cost of a ‘traditional transaction.’ Virgin Net managing director David Clark says the growth of the internet has been inhibited by the cost of devices that users have to buy to enable them to get online, and as a result the company is set to release a set-top box early next year that will sell for around 200 pounds, enabling people to get connected to the internet via their television sets. The company is also aware of the security issues associated with electronic commerce and promises the introduction of a secure transaction system by January of next year.
