Update May 2014
Marcaria is no longer offering incorporation and bank account opening services. They are now focusing on domain names and trademark.
They remain a good company for domain names. I cannot really comment on their trademark services.
This is the second part in my review of offshore service providers (OSPs). The first one was on SFM-Offshore. I will follow the same structure, as far as possible.
Today, we will be taking a close look at Marcaria.
Marcaria.com Corp. is not a pure OSP. They describe themselves as “a company specialized in the global registration and protection of trademarks and domain names, with presence in more than 220 countries in the five continents.” This means that they do a lot more than just offshore incorporations, but they happen to do offshore incorporations as well.
It is a one-stop shop for those looking for a company, international trademark registration, and domain name(s) to protect your brand online; or anyone looking for just one of these services.
It’s important to understand that it’s not Marcaria itself that performs the services (products). Instead, they contract with hundreds of companies, usually reputable accounting firms or law firms in each jurisdiction. The advantage is that Marcaria sometimes enjoys a slight bulk discount, thus making it cheaper for you, and that you get everything consolidated into one place.
Website: https://www.marcaria.com/
Products
They have three categories of products.
1. Trademarks
Marcaria makes it easy for you to trademark your brand in 235 jurisdictions and international organizations (EU, ARIPO, et c.).
The prices are not the cheapest. Marcaria’s selling point is rather the consolidation of multiple services and service providers.
2. Domains
Few companies offer as many top level domains (TLDs) as Marcaria under one roof. The prices aren’t always the cheapest but to not have to bother with the headache of having one domain name with one registrar, another few with another one, and so on can be well worth it.
DNS settings are straight-forward and whois information is greatly customziable, although Marcaria insists on appearing as technical contact for all domains. In the case of certain country-code TLDs, they will for compliance reasons use their own, local name and address.
Marcaria is an ICANN accredited registrar. I will get back to this when it’s time to do due diligence.
3. Incorporations
This is why we are here.
Marcaria is a virtual shopping mall for incorporation in all categories: onshore, offshore, nearshore. Their primary focus is the Americas, but they also offer incorporation in Europe and some in Africa and Asia.
It would be too many to list all jurisdictions, but below is table of some highlights.
[ws_table id=”3″]The prices are reasonable. Belize is especially cheap, but the rates for Panamanian and Costa Rican companies are also attractive. Unlike most other incorporation agencies or OSPs, Marcaria lets you choose between SA (Sociedad Anónima, similar to Private Limited) and SaRL (Sociedad Responsibilidad Limitada, similar to LLC) for Panama, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.
USD is the only currency accepted.
They also open bank accounts and while it’s usually faster and easier to open a bank account in the country of incorporation, you can pick and choose however you want.
Due Diligence
Like last time, I begin by perform a whois on the domain marcaria.com.
Registrant Contact: MARCARIA.COM CORP. MARCARIA.COM CORP. ([email protected])
Fax: 1900 N.W. 97th Avenue Suite # 914-992143 miami, FL 33172 US
Administrative Contact: MARCARIA.COM CORP. MARCARIA.COM CORP. ([email protected]) +1.3054348621 Fax: +1.3056752956 1900 N.W. 97th Avenue Suite # 914-992143 miami, FL 33172 US
Technical Contact: MARCARIA.COM CORP. MARCARIA.COM CORP. ([email protected]) +1.3054348621 Fax: +1.3056752956 1900 N.W. 97th Avenue Suite # 914-992143 miami, FL 33172 US
Status: Locked
Name Servers: gavin.applicationx.net. vinca.applicationx.net.
Creation date: 24 Mar 2001 11:43:47 Expiration date: 24 Mar 2020 15:43:00
While the mailing address on their website is in New York, the terms and conditions refer to Florida. It’s not unusual for companies to exist in more than one state.
Next up is to see if Marcaria exists in the Florida company registry.
I head over to http://www.sunbiz.org (which is the website same as http://ccfcorp.dos.state.fl.us/) and search for Marcaria.
MARCARIA, LLC L11000087974 ACT – Link
MARCARIA.COM CORP. F06000002215 ACT – Link
The directors and managers for both companies are Francisco J. Fuentealba, Cristian A. Fuentealba, and Felipe L. Fuentealba. It looks like a family company.
However, in New York state, Marcaria cannot be found. Searching for the New York address, all results relate to Marcaria and Francisco Fuentealba. The address seems to be residential. It may be Francisco Fuentealba’s personal residence or a residence rented purely for receiving letters to Marcaria.
I mentioned earlier that Marcaria is ICANN accredited. This is a significant sign of trust, as it indicates financial well-being and it also means that Marcaria has been approved by a reputable organization. ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the ultimate authority over all internet domain names. Requirements to become an accredited registrar can be found on the ICANN website: http://www.icann.org/en/resources/registrars/raa/ra-agreement-21may09-en.htm
Marcaria can be found on ICANN’s list of Accredited Registrars as Marcaria.com International Ltd. After some sleuthing, I manage to locate Marcaria.com International Ltd (file number 4104929) in the Delaware company registry, where it has been incorporated since February 2nd 2006.
However, Marcaria is ultimately a Chilean-American company. Operations seem to be in Chile and they are likely using US companies for tax purposes or to appear US-based.
To verify this, we head over to the Chilean registry of companies: Conservador de Bienes Raíces de Santiago (CBRS). After some digging, I manage to find documents proving that Marcaria.com Limitada exists in Chile and is owned by the Fuentealbas. The full report can be purchased from the CBRS website.
Researching the Fuentealbas online indicates that they are residents in Chile; at least Francisco Fuentealba. Further digging reveals a large number of Marcaria employees at LinkedIn, among them my account manager.
Conclusion
A rather complicated due diligence process here, but ultimately Marcaria is transparent and can be verified against public records and social media.
I have used Marcaria for domains and incorporation services. Their strengths are good service and a one-stop shop solution. Marcaria’s pricing is fair and reasonable.
Enjoy your blog. How does one find a trust worthy individual to have a conversation with about these topics? No commitment on either side and no “hold you to it”!
Hi TomCone,
Depends on what you mean. If you just want to discuss offshore and internationalizing matters in general, there are a couple of forums that maintain a high quality:
– https://www.internationalman.com/im-forum/recent
– http://www.talkgold.com/forum/f22-.html
If you want to more professional advice, speak to an offshore service provider (such as Marcaria or SFM-Offshore; I have more reviews coming in the near future) or a qualified accountant or lawyer on a tax planning firm. You can find the by searching on http://www.hg.org.
Hope that helps!