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| Submission declined on 10 September 2024 by Utopes (talk). This submission does not appear to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. Entries should be written from a neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of independent, reliable, published sources. Please rewrite your submission in a more encyclopedic format. Please make sure to avoid peacock terms that promote the subject. Declined by Utopes 60 days ago. | |
Comment: "While Kagi provided a convenient payment solution for many small developers", - says who? This is the only time convenience is mentioned in the article. The article looks close to passable, but some unreferenced sentences are causing concern, including the above and "Kagi was somewhat significant in the shareware and independent software development community", and etc. Utopes (talk / cont) 00:56, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
| Type of business | Payment processing and fintech. |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 8, 1994 |
| Dissolved | July 31, 2016 |
| Created by | Kee Nethery |
| URL | https://kagi.com/ [dead link] |
Kagi was an American digital commerce and payment processing company that operated from 1994 to 2016. It catered primarily to small software developers and shareware authors, providing services such as payment processing, software license distribution, and online store-front management.
History
editKagi was initially conceived in Berkeley, California, as a hobby project by Kee Nethery in 1994.
During the 1990s, the shareware model was a common way for independent developers to distribute software.[1][2] However, small developers often faced logistical challenges, particularly around accepting credit card payments and managing merchant accounts. Kagi provided a platform where developers could sell their software online without handling payment processing themselves.[3][4][5]
The name "Kagi" came from the Japanese word for "key," (鍵).[6] Various other etymologies were also associated with the name, including personal connections to the founder's name, Kee.[7]
Initially, Kagi operated from Nethery's home, using two Macintosh computers to run its back-end services. The company launched with five shareware programs, including Anarchie (later Interarchy), a popular Mac FTP client.[8]
Kagi soon expanded, attracting developers from both the Mac and Windows communities.[5] One of the company’s early successes was the processing of payments for zMUD, a client for multi-user dungeons (MUDs), a type of text-based online game.[8] By the early 2000s, Kagi had over 1,000 products available through its platform, with a diverse range of developers relying on the service to process payments.[9][8][1]
Decline and Closure
editDespite its initial success, Kagi's popularity began to decline in the 2000s as new payment processing solutions, such as PayPal and Stripe, emerged.[10] The company faced increasing competition and struggled to adapt to the evolving digital commerce landscape.[11]
Kagi’s downfall was accelerated by a major incident involving a supplier fraud case over a decade before its closure. Kagi had been handling subscription services for a legal consulting firm, but due to the firm’s aggressive sales tactics, many customers disputed their charges. This resulted in a high volume of chargebacks, damaging Kagi’s reputation with credit card companies and leading to significant financial losses.[12]
Although Kagi won an arbitration case against the supplier, the compensation failed to cover the debts incurred. Over the next decade, the company attempted to work off the debt while continuing operations, but the financial strain persisted.[13] By 2016, Kagi was no longer able to sustain itself.
On July 31, 2016, Kagi abruptly ceased operations.[14] The company cited its inability to recover from the financial losses incurred from the supplier fraud as the primary reason for its closure. The sudden closure left many of its clients without a payment processor and unable to access their customer databases, causing significant disruption to their businesses.[15] Upon closure, Kagi owed around 2000 clients some amount.[12]
Services
editKagi offered several key 'clearing house' services to software developers,[16] including credit card payment processing, the distribution of software license codes and the development and maintenance of bespoke online store/order pages. Kagi developed several utilities, including Register, a utility that let users securely generate printable order forms with credit card encryption and exchange rate calculations for mail-in payments.[17]
Kagi’s platform allowed vendors to create custom online order forms for their products. In return, Kagi took a percentage of each sale. Payments were aggregated monthly, with developers receiving a single payout along with detailed transaction reports.[5]
The service supported a wide range of payment methods, including major credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.[18]
Kagi did not offer integrated customer support, and developers were responsible for managing refunds, technical issues, and customer service independently. However, the service operated globally, and handled complex currency conversions.[5][4] This was beneficial for developers working with international customers.
Legacy
editKagi was fairly well-known in the shareware and independent software development community during the 1990s and early 2000s.[11][4][2] As one of the first e-commerce platforms for small developers, it helped to shape the way in which software was bought and sold before the advent of most major app stores.[11][17]
Some of the notable companies that used Kagi’s services included ArtRage, a digital painting software; Cheetah3D, a 3D animation software for Mac; and Sonic Studio, audio software.[19]
The domain name (kagi.com) would later be bought and used by a search engine of the same name.
References
edit- ^ a b Godfrey, Nolan (August 1998). "Renting a virtual storefront". Web Techniques. 3 (8): 48. ISSN 1086-556X. ProQuest 275061410 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b "Return of the homebrew coder". The Economist. Vol. 370, no. 8366. London, England. March 13, 2004. pp. 12–S12. ProQuest 224031445.
- ^ Landau, Ted (2000). Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters: And what to Do about Them. Peachpit Press. ISBN 978-0-201-69963-0.
- ^ a b c Frakes, Dan (2006-02-20). Mac OS X Power Tools. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-7821-5089-6.
- ^ a b c d "Kagi - Press Releases". 2005-11-04. Archived from the original on 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office: Trademarks. U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office. 1997.
- ^ "Pronouncing Kagi and where did that name come from?". 2000-10-12. Archived from the original on 2000-10-12. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ a b c Moss, Richard C. (2022). "Chapter 13: Pretty Good Shareware". Shareware heroes: the renegades who redefined gaming at the dawn of the internet. London: Unbound. ISBN 978-1-80018-174-8.
- ^ Binder, Mark (2000-06-01). Everything Build Own Homepage. Adams Media. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-58062-339-1.
- ^ Wild, Charles (2011). Electronic and Mobile Commerce Law: An Analysis of Trade, Finance, Media and Cybercrime in the Digital Age. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-907396-01-4.
- ^ a b c "Longtime Shareware Payments Processor Kagi Shuts Down". MacRumors. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ a b Engst, Adam (2016-08-04). "Kagi Shuts Down After Falling Prey to Fraud". TidBITS. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ Tsai, Michael J. "Michael Tsai - Blog - Kagi, RIP". Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ "Farewell Kagi". 2016-08-01. Archived from the original on 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ^ Snell, Jason (2016-08-02). "So Kagi died…". Six Colors. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
- ^ Poole, Lon; Stauffer, Todd (2000). MacWorld Mac OS 9 Bible 2000. IDG Books Worldwide. p. 685. ISBN 0-7645-3414-9.
- ^ a b "Software Marketing Resource - August". groups.google.com. 2003-08-06. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
- ^ "Kagi". 1999-04-27. Archived from the original on 1999-04-27. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
- ^ "Kagi — Company » Testimonials". 2014-10-04. Archived from the original on 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
External links
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