Whats wrong with merit in Russian or Chinese ?
As far as I know, there's a lot of Merit sales in the Chinese section. But my conclusion wasn't based on the merit given to those sectors, I can't read the posts.
Also they ask 10+ merit, it would be easiest to say they don't accept people under Member rank, as many BMs already does...
A Newbie who really earned his Merit can be a valuable asset for advertising, although he'd need to buy a Copper Membership to be able to wear a bigger signature.