Crammed in with its sister company in the basement of Mintflower Place on Par-La-Ville Road, you would hardly know that this is an enterprise riding the crest of the e-commerce wave.

But neither the lack of space nor the noise of the construction next door appeared to hinder business at First Atlantic Commerce.

The company is one of a new breed catering to the payment processing needs of e-businesses and in the two years since it was founded, First Atlantic has become one of the niche industry's key players and is spearheading a drive to bring e-commerce offshore.

In fact, the company has been so successful it has captured Visa International's attention -- the card giant now recommends their services.

"You know you've made it when an industry regulator supports you,'' said First Atlantic founder and CEO Andrea Wilson, who spent five years in the electronic banking division of The Bank of Butterfield. The Canadian then spent a year with what was Internet (Bermuda) Limited before teaming up with the cabling company CCS Group to start First Atlantic.

"I took my knowledge of the card-processing business and asked `How can we build on a separate (Internet) application?'.'' The solution: First Atlantic's software takes credit card information from customers, sends it along its private network to obtain authorisation from card issuers. The network then sends a message back to the customer, either confirming or declining the transaction. Payments are settled in a merchant account at the Bank of Bermuda.

A number of the company's customers are so-called portals, or providers which furnish companies with e-commerce capabilities.

So while First Atlantic's numbers may not appear that impressive, many customers deal on behalf of hundreds of clients -- giving the Internet payment processor a sizable transaction volume.

The company also services Reviewstore.com (a Canadian music website now based in Bermuda and Barbados), an online investment broker and a large Internet mall.

"It's how you package the product that makes a difference,'' said Mrs.

Wilson. "We customise our solutions to meet clients' requirements.'' "Everybody has a different kind of solution because not everybody's business is the same.'' But beyond these capabilities, one of First Atlantic's main attractions is its offshore location. Most of First Atlantic's customers make the move offshore for the company's multi-currency capabilities and the fact that they cannot obtain the kind of merchant accounts they need in their own countries.

E-businesses want to operate in US dollars in addition to their own currency, a capability that First Atlantic -- but not many other banks -- can provide.

"We respond to the needs of countries that want to operate in US dollars, but cannot do so in their own country and would rather avoid incorporation in the States,'' said Mrs. Wilson.

Tax motivations -- the most compelling reason to go offshore, you might have thought -- are almost exclusively reserved to the small number of customers from North America. First Atlantic's mainstays are Asia, Australia, Europe and South and Central America, where the availability of e-business services is comparatively limited.

The physical component of First Atlantic's business -- the racks of computer servers connected to the Internet -- is located at the Cable & Wireless Teleport in Devonshire. The site is advertised as secure and "hurricane proof'', with generators to take over in the event of power failure and a structure designed to withstand 200 mph winds and bombs.

The 24-7 industrial link to the Internet is no doubt costly -- certainly more than it would be elsewhere -- but First Atlantic is convinced that despite Bermuda's high communications costs, it is still able to compete with similar companies in other jurisdictions.

Helping the world shop "We are actually fortunate,'' said Ronald Viera, First Atlantic's vice president for e-commerce operations.

"Bermuda is a little island in the middle of the Atlantic. We are fortunate to have companies like Cable & Wireless -- countries down south are still operating with satellites and 22-second delays, which is causing real problems. '' But there is competition for Bermuda "down south'', and elsewhere.

The Cayman Islands and Barbados are positioning themselves to compete directly with Bermuda in the field of e-commerce, with Curacao not far behind.

Perhaps the most formidable competitors are Ireland and the Isle of Man, both of which have advanced infrastructure and whose governments have instituted financial incentives for companies to set up shop there.

"Customers are looking for the best place in the world to set up business.

"We're often asked `Why should I come to Bermuda instead of going somewhere else?','' said Mrs. Wilson.

First Atlantic advertises in numerous trade publications, bearing little-known names like Offshore Finance U.S.A., a low-budget publication focusing on the North American and Caribbean region.

Trade conferences are another medium through which First Atlantic gets the word out about their services and Bermuda as an e-commerce jurisdiction.

The company also encourages articles about Bermuda and First Atlantic in industry publications.

"It's good to show the range of expertise in Bermuda,'' said Mrs. Wilson.

There is a lot of information to get across.'' And she's confident e-commerce could become a third pillar of the Bermudian economy.

"But it's going to take some work,'' Mrs. Wilson said.

"Bermuda needs to position itself. We cannot be complacent and sit around waiting for business to come along.

"We have to win business.'' `We have to win business!' Andrea Wilson, founder and CEO of Bermuda's First Atlantic Commerce.

Reviewstore.com: Payments to the Bermuda- and Barbados-based Web music merchant go through First Atlantic.