And Now, Shopping Online With Pay Plus+

Are you afraid of making purchases with your credit cards online? Most people are, which is why a lot of credit goes to two enterprising and forward-looking guys, Kevin Khoe and Jason Banico, for creating Pay Plus+, an ATM-based payment gateway which, they say, is much more secure than the regular credit card payment gateway.

Two years ago, Kevin and Jason, chief operating officer and chief technology officer, respectively, of Yehey.com, came up with Pay Plus+ believing that e-commerce would prosper in the future. They were so right. The secret ingredient was simply a more secure payment gateway. Using Microsoft Net technologies, they began the challenging task of building what was to become a key factor in promoting e-commerce.

So why did they use an ATM-based payment gateway? Simply because there are 15 million ATM users while there are only three million credit card holders. Simply put, more people can make use of e-commerce if the payment system were ATM-based. Kevin and Jason firmly believe that just like the phenomenal success that text messaging has achieved in the country, e-commerce would be the wave of the future.

Kevin and Jason explain it simply: The system connects the web user to the ATM, the banking back end. In particular, it connects to the ATM switch, where other banks are connected. This ATM switch is said to be like an ATM terminal. To make available more secure online transactions, Play Plus+ has added a software to make it user-friendly. Online shopping with an ATM card instead of a credit card is much safer, as you would soon find out if you read on. When you purchase with a credit card, the information you have stored will be forwarded, which can fall in just about anyone’s hands. On the other hand, if you use an ATM card, your pin will not be stored so you would have to enter it every time you make a purchase. This way, there’s a lesser likelihood that a web culprit can use your card. Now, how can you resist shopping online?

I doubt it, especially because Pay Plus+ sounds so uncomplicated. You can start by either going to Pay Plus+ enabled shop, visit the Yehey mall or go to payplus.com.ph. Upon checking the items you wish to purchase, you will be directed to a Pay Plus+ page where you’ll be asked to register as Pay Plus+ user and enter both your card number and pin. After that, you just need to wait for your goodies to arrive. In addition, your card will be remembered so you need not enter it the next time you shop. Of course, you would still need to enter your pin. Piece of cake!

What’s more, there are a lot of merchants to choose from. There’s E-Census, a website by the National Statistics Office that lets you acquire your birth and marriage certificates without having to leave your desk. Then there’s Island Rose, which offers flowers that you can send to your loved ones. There’s Filgifts, that’s got all kinds of Pinoy goodies you can send to your family and friends abroad. Or you can knock on the E2Door, which sells US goods at relatively cheaper prices (because they sum up all the online purchased goods so shipping cost goes down). There are many other merchants offering all sorts of stuff – from pre-paid cards to pension plans.

It’s a definite plus, too, to be a Pay Plus+ merchant. With 15 million ATM users, a Pay Plus+ merchant is almost certain his/her web page will be visited. In addition, Pay Plus+ will only be too willing to assist a new merchant through the marketing services it offers in partnership with Yehey, which already has 200,000 members to date.

E-commerce is so easy all you need is an ATM card plus, of course, an Internet connection.

A friendly word of advice though from Kevin and Jason for those who wish to shop with Pay Plus+: Make sure that no one else knows your pin number (not even your best friend), which is your key to online shopping.

Expect a lot of other pluses from Pay Plus+ as Kevin and Jason add more merchants. Coming to you online very soon are a lot more stuff. Certainly, the future is bright for Philippine e-commerce, especially with a more secure payment mode.

For that, Kevin and Jason deserve an A +. Online shopping has never been this exciting!

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E-mail me at ice_wave_42@yahoo.com.