My second GPass experience was not like the 1st time

I had no ride going home last Friday so I had to ride the MRT from Ayala to Shaw station last Friday, November 24 at around 7pm (yes, rush hour!). I do not normally ride the MRT, so I don't own a stored value card, but I still have my GPass that I bought from last August. I was not sure if it still worked, so I went to the GPass booth and asked if there was still balance in my chip. There was still around PHP 50 in my GPass, and I asked to load PHP 20 more just to make sure the chip still works.

So as I was placing the GPass chip on the reader, it would not read the chip. Even though I placed it near the reader, it still would not read. There were so many impatient people behind me, especially this girl behind me. I have not gone through yet, and she placed her card through the turnstile. Of course, I was blocking her way, so she could not get through. I couldn't go back because there were so many people behind her, so the only direction I could go was forward, and I went through the turnstile knowing I was using her card to get through. I was thinking I could just use my GPass for her to get through.

At this point, I was still trying my GPass to work on the reader for the girl behind me to get through. The guards there saw my situation and we told them what has happened. They said they can help the girl with her card, but they can't help me with my GPass problem because it's new technology and they know nothing about it, and asked me to walk back to the GPass booth to get help. At the GPass booth, the guy said that I had to take out the chip out of its plastic casing. Stupid casing!

Even though the chip was out of its plastic casing, the reader won't "read" the chip until the chip touched the reader. Talk about contactless technology...

I'm glad that I was not alone going through that ordeal because I was with Jorrell, my officemate! Thanks Jorrell for being with me there, I would have panicked alone there.

The MRT should improve the GPass technology. When I first used the GPass, the reader immediately read my chip. How come it won't work as well as when it was new? My GPass chip was just lying on my office table for months, so it could not have gotten damaged by anything.

I suggest placing a separate turnstile lane for GPass users so they don't have to line up with the stored value card users. During rush hour, lining up takes around 15 - 20 minutes. The train ride is faster I think..

It was fun walking with my officemates last Friday. I'm glad that I have friends with me in case I ride the MRT again. I don't know if I'll use the GPass next time though...

Yehey! launches Kaban

Kaban Internet Payment Solutions, launched by Yehey!, is an e-commerce solution to online merchants. Kaban is the newly revamped service of Yehey!'s former payment facility called PayPlus+. Kaban merchants are able to receive three types of payments:

1) ATM Card via Bancnet
2) Credit Card (VISA, Mastercard, JCB)
3) Electronic Cash via Globe G-Cash

Kaban works similarly to PayEasy because it offers merchants services to the Philippine market and it revolves around the concept of a load wallet. I guess the Kaban website is still not ready because some of their links don't work yet, such as the merchant tools and the buyers section.

I wonder why they had to change the name from PayPlus+ to Kaban. Maybe PayPlus+ has some pending issues. Personally, I like the PayPlus+ name better.

Kaban's transaction fee is quite high at 6%. Or is this normal?

The Nokia 5300 XpressMusic beats the iPod Nano

Nokia has released a new phone that I find interesting, the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic. It can hold 1,500 songs on a 2G microSD card. It comes with a 1.3-megapixel camera, that's clear! (Well, it's a lot clearer than my current camera phone, haha!) There are dedicated music keys on the side of the phone, which is part of the phone's unique design and charm. The phone comes in two colors - black and red.

Why am I so fascinated with this phone? Because my cousin bought one and I instantly fell in love with this phone when she started to play mp3 songs in loud speaker. The sound really has superior sound quality, as the nokia website says. My cousin is also able to hook up her Nokia 5300 to her car. This beats the Nano!

This phone is also price friendly. You can get one for PHP 12,500. This is the same price range as the iPod Nano...

I am considering buying this phone. My old Samsung E-600 is frustrating at times. For some weird reason, it can't even do basic phone services such as caller ID unless I save a person's number twice. I love Samsung, it's cute and easier for me to use than Nokia phones, but this phone unit I have is not working well. Time to replace? hmm...

I have Sun Cellular!

I finally got a Sun Cellular line! I applied for one around 2 weeks ago. I availed of the Plan 350 Unlimited Call and Text to Sun networks. Plus, there is 250 free text a month to other networks. And this plan came with a free Nokia 2310. It's my first phone with an FM radio, haha. Not bad!

Owning a Sun line is convenient for me because a lot of people in my family have a Sun line. I'm hoping more of my friends have Sun line too, haha.

Another promo of Sun that's attractive is paying PHP 999/mo. It comes with 3 Plan 350 lines. This is a good package that families or barkadas can avail of.

There should be family or group packages for postpaid cellular subscribers. Why can't Smart and Globe do that? Like, unlimited calls and/or text between family members or among subscribed numbers for a flat fee. The plans are too focused on individual subscriptions.

The Sun service has improved compared to before, I'd just like to add.

Well, that's all for now. :-) More power to Sun!

Reply from Mia of VMobileSolutions

Hi Jacqui,

Yes, we have an existing micro-remittance service available on the Chikka Messenger version 4 called i$end. It is a web service that can be accessed from and is linked to the said instant messenger. PayPal and Moneybookers users can purchase ‘i$end credits’ which can be used for sending prepaid load credits, game and internet credits, Smart Money or electronic gift vouchers to their friends and family in the Philippines.

Our money remittance service offers micro denominations, namely P500, P1000, P2000 and P5000. The US dollar amount paid by the sender is computed based on the exchange rate plus a small handling fee that covers the printing and courier fees of the card, fees charged by the payment gateways (PayPal or Moneybookers), 24x7 customer support, fees to remit the funds to the Smart Money account of the beneficiary, and other operational costs. We charge $3.48 to remit P500-P2000 while we charge $5.99 to remit P5000.

All the sender needs to do is to fill up a form on the web by providing personal details such as name, address and a contact number plus details of the beneficiary. (A beneficiary should be a Smart subscriber in order to receive funds). On the first transaction, we call the sender and beneficiary in order to verify the information. The beneficiary details will be uploaded to the Smart Money system. The beneficiary will receive an SMS notification regarding the money sent to his Smart Money account. Average turnaround time takes 1 day for the first transaction. The Smart Money personalized card and PIN mailer will be printed and mailed to the beneficiary within 5-10 days. Succeeding transactions will be completed within a few minutes. If the beneficiary already has a Smart Money card which is tied to the mobile phone number provided by the sender on the first transaction, then a card will no longer be printed out. They can encash immediately at any Banco De Oro ATM.

Regards,

Mia

___________________________________________________________________

I logged in to my Chikka Messenger account (version 4) and an icon of a Peso sign and cellphone directed me to the i$end page. It didn't work at first, but it worked on the second time. You can buy i$end credits from PayPal and Moneybookers and use the i$end credits for sending money to a Smart Money beneficiary. When I clicked on the icon for buying i$end credits from PayPal, I got an error. I logged off Chikka and logged in again. This time, I couldn't even get to the i$end page. "The page cannot be displayed".

As of this time, 11:39 am, October 26, 2006, the i$end system does not work. If I were an OFW wanting to send money, I don't think I would want to rely on this service. Unreliable.

I'll try again later to see if it works.

Filipinos can have PayPal!

Two weeks ago, I read that PayPal is now available in the Philippines. I signed up for a PayPal Premiere account just to see that the Philippines is included. Lots of people shared their comments on the PayPal for the Philippines site so I'll just sum up and include the interesting points shared.

1. You can ONLY SEND MONEY with your PayPal account, up to $100.

2. You CANNOT:

a) Request for money or receive money
b) Add funds from your bank account
c) Withdraw funds

3. This is good news to online shoppers, especially those who want to buy from eBay.

4. Implications:

a) PayPal can't be used for remittances, which most Filipinos are after
b) Online merchants can't use PayPal to collect payment

A person named Brod made a comment in the PayPal for the Philippines site and made a good point :

"Paypal in other countries like Malaysia also cannot receive funds to their local bank accounts. It effectively limits local merchants from outselling American merchants. Plus even if local merchants are able to sell their products, they can’t get their money from the States. That effectively contains their money within their shores. If you want your money, you will have to have a US bank account and use their wire transfer services to get your funds. Very good thinking. Americans are money-wise.

Paypal knows they now have stiff competition from Google Checkout, so they suddenly scrambled to get first base in the Philippines. But in their race to outdo each other, our Filipino remittance companies will in the long run be at the losing end."

Some people think it was an insult that PayPal imposed these limitations, but I think it was a smart decision. I think PayPal is testing the waters now. If all goes well with this, maybe PayPal would consider offering us their other services.

Another person who made a comment caught my attention. Mia says:

"For those who are frustrated that you can’t cash-out using your PayPal acount, we might have the answer to what you are looking for.

We currently have an ongoing service that allows PayPal users to remit cash in micro-denominations to the Philippines via Smart Money. We accept PayPal payments and we transfer the money to a Smart mobile number via Smart Money. We charge a handling fee to cover for PayPal/Smart Money transaction fees, production of the card, and other operational expenses. For example, we charge $5.99 for a P5000 remittance.

We mail our beneficiaries the physical Smart Money card and PIN. The card can hold up to 50,000 pesos at any given time. You can then withdraw the funds from a Banco De Oro ATM or encash in any Smart Wireless Center. If you are talking about receiving PayPal payments not more than 50K, this might be the solution you guys are looking for. Contact me at mdeleon@vmobilesolutions.com."

I have already sent Mia an email and asked more details on this service. How will the PayPal remitter send money? Is this done online? The website of VMobileSolutions does not really share this information. I will find out soon.

By the way, Innoload provides a solution to the ongoing problem of receiving PayPal in the Philippines. Innoload allows PayPal users to send money online to Smart Money and Globe G-Cash beneficiaries. Visit www.innoload.com

Testing Load.com.ph and MobiusOnline

I tried buying mobile load from Load.com.ph and Mobius Online. These two companies offer different types of prepaid load (cell, game, internet, phone cards) and have recently signed a partnership. I observed that the concept of both companies are very similar.

What's similar?
1) Wallet system. Both employ their own currency. In order to buy products from their site, you must fund your account with "load credits" or Mobius "e-points". PHP 1 = 1 load credit or e-points

2) Both have their own prepaid cards to load your account. Load.com.ph has the "All-in-1 Prepaid" card, Mobius has the "MobiusOnline Prepaid Card".

3) Both cater the Philippine market only. People abroad have no access to those prepaid cards to fund their account.

4) You can transfer load credits to another load.com.ph member, and transfer e-points to another MobiusOnline member (e-pasa).

So what's the partnership between Load.com.ph and Mobius Online about?
The most obvious one is that you can buy Mobius e-points at Load.com.ph. But why would I do this? I would just buy load directly at Load.com.ph instead of topping up my Mobius account, right? Unless Mobius sells some products Load.com.ph doesn't have. I found out that Mobius sells game load that Load.com.ph doesn't have - MU, Gunbound, and GoPets.

Thing is, you can't buy load.com.ph's load credits in Mobius Online. Why?

Disadvantages
1) Loading your account at Load.com.ph and Mobius Online is a hassle. You have to go to a store to buy their own prepaid card. Although you can fund your Load.com.ph via Smart Money or through bank deposit.

I funded my Load.com.ph account via bank deposit, thanks to Innoload. But it was a hassle. After depositing to their bank account, you have to fax the deposit slip to them. After faxing, your account will be loaded within the hour. Going through all that to load your account is an inconvenience. Funding via credit card is also possible, but is not working at the moment.

Mobius Online has a more limited network to loading your account. Loading is only possible when you buy from load.com.ph or through a prepaid card. Here's what I find strange - there are stores that loads your Mobius account electronically. From their website: "The cashier will either load up your account directly using your MobiusOnline username, or provide you with an ePIN."

Load.com.ph and Mobius Online can expand their network in loading so there would be more options to choose from. What happens to your "load credits" or "e-points" stored in their system? Can you convert them to cash?

Oh another thing. I got to buy Globe Autoloadmax from Mobius, and I got it immediately. Load.com.ph doesn't sell Globe Autoloadmax, they sell Globe prepaid through electronic pins.

I guess these sites are useful to gamers who usually go to Internet cafes where these prepaid cards are sold. There's also discounts on some products, so that's good.

YESPinoy and Innoload

Another e-payment system available to Filipinos is YESPinoy. With YESPinoy, you can send remittance or money via the Internet from your credit card (VISA, MasterCard, JCB) or debit card (Smart Money, UnionBank EON Card). The recipient can receive money through his Smart Money account or UnionBank EON Card, which can be withdrawn in an ATM.

So, what now?

YESPinoy offers convenience to remitters abroad. Normally, a remitter abroad must go to a Smart Remittance Partner to send money. With YESPinoy, sending remittance to a Smart Money user can be done anywhere, via the YESPinoy website. The remitter abroad is hassle-free from going to a Smart Remittance Partner.

Innoload offers this same convenience to its customers, except it employs different payment systems. Sending remittance to a Smart Money or Globe G-Cash user can be done via the Internet. With Innoload, you can send money from PayPal, Moneybookers, Smart Money, and Globe G-Cash. The beneficiary in the Philippines can receive the money via Smart Money or G-Cash. As a result, the remitter abroad is hassle-free from going to a Smart Remittance Partner or Globe G-Cash Outlet.

I’ve only made a comparison of the remittance service of YESPinoy and Innoload. Though these two companies offer a similar benefit to remitters, its direction and focus are very different. Let me explain.

YESPinoy focuses on serving the global Filipino community by offering remittance service and other services such as Find a Friend, Find a School, and Send SMS (via the Internet). YESPinoy is itself a community that tries to be funny and approachable (they have caricatures of their management team).

On the other hand, Innoload is focused on linking various payment systems that will enable people from the Philippines to shop online, or basically do online transactions. For people abroad, they will be able to send money to the Philippines from a PayPal or Moneybookers account. Innoload is the only site that enables a Smart Money or G-Cash subscriber to transfer money to a PayPal or Moneybookers account. Good news to Filipinos who want to shop in eBay.

YESPinoy can improve its service by adding more options to send money from. Why just from credit cards? Why not add banks? I’m also surprised that YESPinoy doesn’t have a forum. It would feel more like a community if there was a forum.

More topics to come. Next entries would be about Google Talk & Chikka, NETS, Smart Money, and more.

PayEasy Works

This morning, I tried funding my PayEasy account through my G-Cash, and it worked. I put in P45 to my PayEasy account. Yay

With this amount, I can buy a song from Fliptunes. Fliptunes is an online store of original Pinoy music. One songs costs P40. I've successfully bought a song (Voice of Angels by SPiNTECH), and as I pressed the 'Download' button, Mozilla suddenly incurred an error, which quit the program. I went back to that page but was unable to download the license because it said that I had to buy the license. But I just bought the license!

Fortunately, my friend Apol works at MozCom. She said Fliptunes works best using Internet Explorer and told me to email her boss regarding the problem. She replied instantly, within 30 minutes I think. They reset my order, so I was able to download the license. So I finally got to listen to the song. Thanks to Apol and Ms. Tin Loya of MozCom. Appreciate the help :)

I never knew there was so much Pinoy music. Check out Fliptunes and pay via PayEasy, it's convenient. Just don't use Mozilla Firefox, hehe

Online Payment Systems

I've been researching on online payment systems (it's my job to learn about these). So far, I've read up on PayPal, Moneybookers and PayEasy. I can't try PayPal and Moneybookers because they don't serve the Philippines, but I can try PayEasy.

PayPal allows individuals and businesses to send and receive money online. PayPal users can shop online without revealing their credit card number or other financial information, which makes it secure. PayPal also caters to merchants who need a payment system to receive money. Recently, PayPal has extended its services to the mobile phone. Mobile subscribers in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom can buy items through their mobile phone by texting. The PayPal Plus Credit Card, which is MasterCard designed, offers exclusive benefits to PayPal members.

Moneybookers works similar to PayPal and offers the same basic services to shoppers and merchants. The difference between the two payment systems is its market. PayPal is widely used in the United States, while Moneybookers is more popular in Europe. Maybe because Moneybookers accepts more European currencies than PayPal? I wonder...

Moneybookers does not offer mobile services like PayPal's, and does not have its own credit card. I wonder if there are a lot of users to PayPal's mobile service because I have this notion that most Americans don't know how to compose a text message. I guess texting has become more popular in the United States than I thought.

PayEasy, developed by MozCom, is an online payment gateway for Internet users and Internet store owners. The PayEasy system revolves around the concept of a Wallet. One must fund his/her PayEasy account to make purchases from online merchants who accept PayEasy. There are several payment systems to fund your PayEasy account: Globe G-Cash, international credit cards, PayPal, debit cards (Bancnet and MegaLink), UCPB my1time, and many more (offline funding can be done).

This afternoon, I went to the Payeasy site and tried funding P50 to my PayEasy account through my G-Cash. I received a text message requesting to reply with my MPIN to confirm my transaction. I did this, but nothing happened next. I was expecting another text message, one from Mozcom and/or G-Cash, but received none. I tried funding again, this time, I tried funding P40 to my account. It didn't work again.

I emailed Mozcom's support/ help desk regarding this problem, and they responded to me quite fast. My message was forwarded to another guy from Mozcom asking if Mozcom has received a notification from Globe. After around an hour, I got a reply. Here it is:

Hi,

There was a problem with our G-Cash application. The transaction was not committed. Please try again. Thanks.

So the G-Cash system of PayEasy doesn't work or didn't work at that particular time only? I'll try again tom. I was hoping to purchase songs from fliptunes.

What I don't like about PayEasy is that non-PayEasy members cannot pay to a PayEasy user, unless the merchant avails of the PayEasy Direct (which is not available for all merchants).

I'll look into more payment systems tomorrow.

Reloading G-Pass via G-Cash

I tried loading my G-Pass using G-Cash, and this time it worked. Hmm...

I got to load P20 to my G-Pass. Cool

My First G-Cash Experience

For my first experiment on mobile applications, I decided to try Globe's G-Cash service. I've never used G-Cash ever, and after learning that Philippines was the first (or one of the first?) in integrating an electronic wallet system into mobile phones, I decided it's worth to try G-Cash.

My first attempt at G-Cash
I went to the Globe Hub in Podium last August 6, Sunday. I wanted to cash-in P100 to my G-Cash account. So I filled up this form and waited for 5 minutes only to tell me that their system was down at the moment, meaning they can't cash-in my P100. Argh! I was kinda disappointed at this. If the G-Cash system is occasionally down, I don't think I would want to do large transactions, like paying for bills. Meralco bill at home ranges from P9,000 - P11,000 a month, why would I want to bring cash of that amount in the mall to cash-in G-Cash? I might get robbed in the process. Or the G-Cash system might be down...

My first G-Cash Cash-In
Then yesterday, August 21, I finally got to cash-in G-Cash at the Globe Business Center in Robinson's Galleria. I successfully cashed-in P200.
These are the steps involved for cashing-in G-Cash at a Globe Business Center:

1. Get an application form from the guard at the entrance. He'll give you a number on a stub as well.
2. Fill up form
3. Wait for your number to come out
4. Go to the counter assigned to you
5. Submit form
6. Receive text from G-Cash, informing of the transaction

So much involved when cashing-in G-Cash! I find it inconvenient to go through this every time. It's no fun filling up forms and waiting. I didn't have to wait for long though, (maybe because it was a holiday and time was already 7.30pm). I wish they find a way to eliminate the process of filling up forms.

While I was at the counter submitting my form, I asked the lady (customer care) if I can buy cell phone load using G-Cash. She said that G-Cash doesn't do that kind of service yet, that Globe is still working on it. Huh? Wasn't this service offered last year pa? I asked this question to test how well they know G-Cash. I didn't argue with her further because I was thinking maybe the mobile reloading service via G-Cash was currently down or something. Instead, I just asked for a brochure or leaflet on G-Cash. She told me I had to get it from the guard at the entrance. Why don't they place brochures at the counter?

Buying cell phone load via G-Cash
Contrary to the lady at customer care, the G-Cash brochure says I can buy mobile load using G-Cash by simply texting. I tried it this morning and it works! I bought P25 load from G-Cash, and what's more is that I get 5% of G-Cash load from my purchase, so I got back P1.25! Yay! The downside to this service is that when load balance is zero, you can't buy via G-Cash. There must be enough load to text to 2882. So I suggest that sending text to 2882 should be free when buying mobile load. Otherwise, I would still have to go to the nearest sari-sari or convenience store to buy load so I can use G-Cash to buy load. Whopeee. G-Cash defeats the purpose of conveniently buying load anywhere when they impose this restriction.

Attempting to Load G-Pass via G-Cash
For my next purchase via G-Cash, I decided to try loading my G-Pass via G-Cash. G-Pass, recently launched by Globe, is a reloadable stored value chip used as an alternative to pay for MRT trips. It's convenient to use when riding the MRT because all you have to do is tap the chip into a reader at the turnstile and pass through. No more falling in line to buy MRT tickets/ cards.

They say I can load G-Pass via my G-Cash, but it just didn't work. I've registered my G-Pass and was able to check my G-Pass balance, but I wasn't able to reload it. This was the text message I received:

"Sorry, you entered the wrong Card Name or G-Pass Serial No. Please try the transaction again with the correct Card Name or G-Pass Serial No."

I tried reloading G-Pass again twice, using my card name and serial number, but received the same text message.

So reloading the G-Pass via G-Cash doesn't work for now.

I'll try to use G-Cash for its other services too, like buying in Mercury Drug and National Bookstore. Or paying for Shakey's deliveries. So until my next entry :) Still trying to get a feel of G-Cash :)

Welcome to my blog

Hi everyone! I'm on a mission to blog about mobile applications in general. I'm currently researching and exploring mobile applications from the Philippines (because I live here), but I'll also keep an eye on mobile applications abroad. I'll be testing and trying on Globe and Smart's mobile applications, and I'll be sharing my feedback through this blog. I'm not an expert on this topic, I'm actually just beginning to learn about mobile applications.

So join me in my journey of exploring anything mobile!

In know you are probably wondering why it's MOObile, I just think it sounds cute.