If a buyer does not respond in a reasonable time, their account is suspended. First Virtual sends a transaction result message to the merchant, indicating whether the buyer accepted the charges. Note - The 91 day waiting period is in place to protect First Virtual from buyers who dispute the charge on their credit card and have the credit card company chargeback First Virtual for all or part of the sale. The First Virtual payment system has several advantages and disadvantages over other payment systems used on the Internet. No charges are processed against their account without their confirmation.
Purchases are essentially anonymous.
The merchant is never given the buyer's name from First Virtual. It is extremely easy to become a merchant, or seller, under First Virtual. First Virtual does not screen merchants, nor do they require merchants to have a special business accounts established with a bank. First Virtual has very low processing fees compared to other Internet payment schemes or even straight credit card processing. Extremely long waiting period between when a sale is made and when payment is deposited in the merchant's account.