Abby Ongyanco-Lim

Cool! 2go by aboitiz dropped by our house today to pick up our passports. It’s very important to note that you have all the requirements ready at hand. I forgot about photocopying the 1-4 pages and latest BID departure/arrival pages of our passports. Good thing, my brother in law has hp all in one printer that has a copier.
So, I signed up the form given to us, place my thumbmarks and gave him the money (2600 for two passports). Viola! We’re told to wait for one week and our renewed passport will be delivered to us. Isn’t that nice?

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ebay.ph has been around for quite some time. I’ve heard that it is very successful in other countries. But, I have no idea how it fared locally.
Last December, I bought a book entitled “The Perfect Store by Adam Cohen”. The book tells us about ebay started, its birth pain experiences and lots more. AFter reading, I am so inspired to try ebay.
As I’ve shared earlier my sis-in-law and her husband are the ones into ebay thingy, they’ve been selling goods for 4-5 months only. But, they have over a hundred transactions already. All of these, gave them a positive feedback. (ebay has a feedback system - the more positive feedback you got from buyers/sellers the more credible you are) They told me that they go to Cubao or Quiapo to purchase some goods which they think would sell at ebay. My sis-in-law is into pocketbooks, while her husband is into LPs, CDs and Collectibles.
So, before starting out with ebay I was thinking what stuff to sell online. Then, it came to me why not start disposing the computer books. And so, I started taking pictures of the books and putting them at ebay. My first week was so bad, no one even bidded for the books. (Maybe I’m trying to sell the books high? hehehe) Second week, I adjusted the price to a really bargain price! Then, bidding started coming. Payments made through bank transfer. Goods are either picked up or shipped via courier. See, ebay.ph is cool!

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Eager to try out G-Cash, I wonder where I can pay a transaction using G-Cash.
Then, I remember my online subscription to ABS-CBN Interactive just expired. ABS-CBN Interactive allows me to watch ABS-CBN shows that I missed. Since, I’m out most of the time. I often missed my soap operas, news and other fave shows.
Okay, so I logged on to my account. Clicked the “renew my subscription”. And, select that I be paying in G-Cash for a month subscription worth P282.15. Then, the screen prompt me to enter my mobile number. Then the screen, shows a progress bar waiting for response from Globe Server. Meanwhile, I received a text message that says

“ABS CBN INTERACTIVE requests to deduct 282.15 of G-Cash from your wallet. Reply to tis message with your MPIN if you want to confirm. No response after 5 mins cancels the transaction. Please note that your MPIN will validate the txn but it will not be disclosed to any party. P1.00/txn.”

On my screen, the progress bar goes back and forth still waiting for a response from Globe. So, I texted back to the message with my MPIN code. After a while, I got this message

“You have sent 285.15 of G-Cash to ABS CBN INTERACTIVE, INC on 02/13/06 04:00AM You new balance is 264.85. Ref No. xxxxx”

At the same time, my screen refeshes and displayed a confirmation page. That my payment was successful! Wow! That was so cool! And so, I just renewed by subscription using G-Cash!

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G-cash was not new. It has been in existence for the quite some time. But, I just have no reason for using it or trying it out.
Then, my sis-in-law and her husband both an ebay enthusiasts asked me a few days ago about g-cash. My sis-in-law has a buyer from Cebu and according to her bank transfer will cost her additional 50 pesos. So, the buyer was asking if G-cash payment is acceptable. So, I checked Globe’s website to look into G-Cash.
It seems easy. If you are a Globe subscriber, then all you have to do is register by texting “REG (4-digit M-PIN)/(Mother’s Maiden Name )/(First Name)/(Last Name)/(Address)/(Telephone No.)” and send to 2882.
After a few secs, I got a reply from Globe that I can now start using G-Cash. A word of caution though, based on my experience with XOOM Make sure that the name and address you registered with Globe matched one of your I.D (Drivers License) So, you will not have trouble claiming the G-Cash.
I gave my sis-in-law my mobile number, so she can start informing her buyer that she can accepts G-Cash through me. (My sis-in-law uses Smart :p) Anyway, we found out that using G-Cash would only cost her buyer additional 10 pesos for G-Cash compared to 50 pesos for bank transfer. G-Cash only charge 10 pesos for amount less than P1,000 and 1% for P1,000 upto P10,000. I clarified to my sis-in-law that when accepting G-Cash it’s either the buyer or seller who shoulder the transaction fee. Since, the fee will only be deducted if you claim the money. But, as long as the G-Cash money is in the Globe system. You will not be charged for this. Well, my sis-in-law decided to pass the fee to her buyer.
After a few days, I got a text message “You have received 547.00 of G-Cash from xxxx xx on 2/11/2006 05:04 PM Ref No. xxxxx”. Okay, so I have 547.00 on my wallet. Of course, I paid my sis-in-law what’s due to her. See it works!

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http://www.ecensus.com.ph - where you can request for a birth certificate, marriage and other documents.
The PORT - is a payment gateway provided by unionbank.

Since, I’m going to renew my passport under my married name. I need a marriage certificate on NSO paper. So, I figure why not try the online request. Okay, first step you have to click the “Request” then “Apply Certificates” Then, a popup window will appear - just clicked I agree. Then, proceed with filling up the form as to where you want your documents be delivered. After filling that up, you may now start requesting for several documents. For each type of docs you request, you have to fill up the form pertaining to the certificate you requested. After that, you can finally submit you request. This will be processed as a batch. Thus, you are given a batch reference number. Very important to keep this batch reference number. This is what you will need to pay via the PORT or over the bank.

For me, I decided to try the PORT. I expected to be asked for my credit card details. But, I was astound that the only payment type available is the ATM/Debit Card - Megalink or Unionbank issued cards only. Anyway, I decided to try it by using my Ibank ATM card. Scary as it is, I need to type my ATM card number, and pin! But, I wanted to know how it works. So, I proceed by typing my ATM card number and ATM pin. My first attempt was not successful - “Time out error”My second attempt was successful - I saved the acknowledgement page. It says Marriage Certificates will take 3 days to process and delivery will takes 2 to 6 working days!

So, let’s see until then.

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