racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

Yesterday after noon mass I headed to the UP Shopping Center branch of RCPI, which was a western union agent, to withdraw my September Google AdSense earnings. I was disappointed. Apparently the branch didn’t have the form needed for Quick Cash. And the manager said I needed Google’s account number in order to withdraw the funds (not only the Money Transfer Control Number). I’ve read about complaints about the latest way to withdraw Google AdSense earnings on some blogs, and I was expecting some delays.

So the manager had to call up their head office to request a fax copy of the *Quick Cash* form.

I decided to forego withdrawing my AdSense earnings for now because of these reasons.

First, I left my other ID in the car. I didn’t want to waste my time walking all the way to the parking lot and back to the RCPI branch just to get my _other_ ID. RCPI/WU needed two valid IDs, and I usually only carry my driver’s license in my wallet. My other IDs (technically no longer valid, actually) I usually leave in the car for when I need to leave something at the gates of those exclusive subdivisions or school/company compounds.

Also, I wasn’t so sure about the form I was being asked to fill up. For some reason, the wordings on the Google AdSense payment details said *MCTN or Money Transfer Control Number* and *Western Union Quick Cash*, but “MCTN” wasn’t written anywhere on the *Quick Cash* form. So this started me wondering whether I should just use the regular “receive money” form instead.

Also, the person ahead of me in the queue was arguing with the teller, so I was expecting the wait to be longer. Teller says her PRC (Professional Regulatory Commission) ID had already expired last August, and was asking her to submit another ID. The client, however, didn’t carry anything with her at the moment. Seemed like she was pissed, especially since she’d been a regular client for the past few months already.

Here’s what’s funny. During the argument, she said

Ilang buwan na akong nagwi-withdraw ng pera dito, bakit ayaw nyong tanggapin ang ID ko. Dalawang libo lang ‘yan! Hindi ko ipagpapalit ang dangal ko sa dalawang libo.

This loosely translates to:

I’ve been a client for some months now, so why won’t you accept my ID as valid. It’s just PhP 2,000. I won’t compromise my dignity for just PhP 2,000.

Or something to that effect.

Seems like the system got the better of that client.

I almost wanted to hear the teller answer the client:

Hindi naman po dangal niyo ang kelangan namin eh. Valid ID niyo!

Which loosely translates to:

We’re not after your dignity, but only your valid ID.

LOL.

Anyway, I think in these cases it’s an issue with very valid arguments from both sides. The remittance institution is just ensuring the security of transactions. The client, meanwhile, is asking reconsideration because it might be inconvenient at that time to produce another valid ID, probably given her circumstances. Her ID had been valid only a few months ago, and in all likelihood the person on her ID (name, picture, address, etc.) is still her!

Ah, life!

Later today or tomorrow, I’ll be heading to a different Western Union branch and I’ll be sure to fill up that yellow form, hoping it’s the right one.

I’m launching a ton of blogs this November, and I need 10 writers who can write for me for 12 months. This is mostly copywriting work, and the posts are to be short posts on a wide variety of niches/topics. Compensation is okay by Philippine standards, and is of course commensurate to the effort put into this project. Perhaps it’s good enough to leave your day job especially since it’s a telecommute/virtual office position–so you can save on the usual expenses related to commuting to work.

I also need one technical person who can take care of installing and maintaining blog software for me.

I have talked to a few people, and some are on my shortlist already. But most of these slots need to be filled still.

While I wouldn’t require a PhD in creative writing or any degree whatsoever, I would need prospective writers to have a good grasp of the English language. I wouldn’t require you to be Filipino or in the Philippines, either (there’s always PayPal!), but keep in mind that you may not expect the compensation to be enough for a full-time undertaking if you’re from an expensive city like New York or Tokyo.

If you are interested, please do email me at jangelo (at) racoma (dot) net. Please send a copy of your resume (online, inline or as an attachment), and links to your blogs or other writing works.

This starts in November so I’ll be able to assign these by middle of next week.

Remember Ms. Myrna Co’s interview with me that I mentioned a while back? The article has been published on the Sunday Inquirer Magazine last September 30th. Excerpts:

Another blogging pioneer is J. Angelo Racoma, who talks about making money from blogging at The Jspot (racoma.com.ph). He knows whereof he speaks: he left a comfortable 8 to 5 job to blog fulltime. He now works from home as editor-in-chief of an international blogging network, which enables him to hire his kababayans as bloggers, researchers, and web designers. The Racomas are a blogging family – from the matriarch, Dine, 49, down to the baby, Alan, Jr., 11.

Paypal users from the Philippines have reason to rejoice: PayPal now allows Philippine-registered accounts to receive funds. Check out Pinoy Money Talk for more information. I’ll be posting more about this soon.

I’m still playing around with my local account. So far, I cannot register with a local bank (only US banks are enabled for receiving funds), so the only way to actually receive money is to credit the funds back to a debit/credit card. Still, being able to receive money easily would be a big boost to business here, especially for those who have clients from abroad (like freelance writers, designers, bloggers, etc.).

One big gripe I have with Google AdSense is that it doesn’t make EFT payouts to the Philippines. EFT means electronic fund transfer. I’ve been regularly using EFT on my bank accounts (via online banking) for several transactions, like when I need to send funds to relatives, or when I need to transfer across accounts (savings to checking, etc.). It’s safe, secure and funds are transferred in mere milliseconds.

So I had been wondering why EFT is still unavailable here locally. Publishers have to wait three to four weeks for regular checks to come in the mail. We can have checks delivered via DHL, but processing fee is a bit steep at $24 each. Well, it’s not cheap for those who get thousands of dollars worth everytime, but those who get a few hundreds would think the $24 is on the high side.

Abe Olandres writes that Google AdSense payouts via Western Union are now available. This is good news to us smaller publishers, since we can now expect our funds faster (a day after payment release), and it’s cheaper, too. Charges start at $16 from $100 to $300. Here is the fee schedule:

* From $100 to $300 : $16 fee
* For $500 : $32 fee
* For $600 : $50 fee
* For $750 : $56 fee
* For $1,000 : $68 fee

I agree with Abe that for those who get $100 to $300 per month, Western Union is the best option. Otherwise, you’d best stick with secure check delivery.

However, with check payment, you would still have to deposit the check with your bank, and wait the usual three-day clearing (for PhP) or more (for US$). So for those who need to get their funds in a jiffy, Western Union is perhaps the best option.

Now hopefully Google will be able to affiliate with local banks/banking networks so they can do EFT here soon.