The Lady Programmer

Even though I prefer to use the Payoneer card for purchase, I find so many Filipinos asking around how to save more on Payoneer withdrawals. I did not want to get the “insufficient funds” message seen whenever I decide to take some funds out, so I decided to fix some amount left in the Payoneer account: I highly recommend leaving around P500 in the account instead of getting the whole amount out.

However, ATM machines are different. There are some machines that allow a higher withdrawal limit than the others. I’ve discovered that the limit imposed on machines is not dependent on the bank or the location of the machine. For instance, I found few BPI ATMs which allow a lower withdrawal limit while the rest of their bunch allow higher withdrawals.

Here is what I have to say about getting more from each cash withdrawal from the Payoneer card:

• Determine which ATM machines allow higher withdrawal limits, if you plan to withdraw higher amounts exceeding P4,000. Some say the withdrawal limit has to do with the bank, I’ve also heard others that the limit has something to do with the location of the ATM. However, it really pays to ask the bank personnel or the guard-in-charge on which ATM machines allow higher withdrawals. The limits are often dependent on the model of ATM machine installed in the area.




• Do a balance inquiry first. Balance inquiry is always free and it is often helpful to determine the amount of money in Pesos that is funded in the account.




• Choose SAVINGS over current account option when doing balance inquiry or withdrawals. You’ll still get slapped with $0.90 charge when you choose the incorrect option.




• Leave P500 in your Payoneer account. Do a quick mental computation after a balance inquiry. You cannot withdraw everything in your account. Despite having a $2.15 withdrawal charge that Payoneer takes away, leaving P100 or even up to P300 will still give you “insufficient funds” error with each withdrawal.




• You can still use the P500 amount left in the card to pay for purchases in department stores, supermarkets and other stores as long as these merchants accept Mastercard payments.




• It is possible to pay the remaining balance of the card for a purchase that is worth more than the amount stored in the card. A card with P400 left can still be used to pay for a P600 item by telling the cashier to withdraw off funds from the card then add P200 more to pay for the purchase.




• The $3 maintenance fee can be reduced to $1 maintenance fee by having more than two Payoneer transactions in one month. Instead of doing a set of load and withdraw transactions in a single month, use the card to pay for some purchases too.

Who would say NO to a very fast broadband speed offered at reasonable prices? Charter Internet is offering a package that I would definitely pay for only $14.99 per month topped with 30-day risk FREE offer.

I have just decided to upgrade my connection and I really think that this deal is a lot better because I will be expecting to pay twice for having only 1 Mbps internet speed for the next week! Now Charter internet comes in with their 5 Mbps offer and alas! I wish I could take back what I’ve signed.

As I’ve read through, their package even includes automatic virus and hacker protection using Charter Internet High-Speed Security Suite. The 10 email accounts are certainly more than enough for each family member (and perhaps friends and other relatives) and the 20 MB web space can be used to put up a family web site or blog.

Considering the economic problem that the world is facing, Charter Internet even offers a FREE $25 Shell gift card when one gets to place an order online – indeed this is quick and easy! This great offer only lasts until the end of the month, so it pays to be early for this.

Interestingly, I’ve been getting more and more writing opportunities with Sponsored Reviews and SocialSpark as compared to those very hot writing jobs in PayPerPost. I think this is indeed a great way to work with Sponsored Reviews, as I’ve been happy to have a queue of writing jobs waiting for me to write about (not on this blog though, but on my other blog).

Sponsored Reviews is another paid blogging site offers paid opportunities to write reviews on a particular product or service. It is a straightforward site which works very similar to freelance sites in oDesk and Elance: an advertiser puts up a job opportunity, then active bloggers can take their bids for as low as $5 per review to even as much as a $100 for one. This is indeed a great opportunity to put in some buzz on a website: indeed advertisers have the option to post a writing job that talks about great reviews – it could either be a discussion of the benefits to a full critique of the product in question.

image credit to Dan

If you happen to be a part time blogger, then Sponsored Reviews is the paid best blogging site to go for additional income from your blog. Unlike PayPerPost and SocialSpark where the post deadline should be met in a few hours, SponsoredReviews allows you to think about the writing post for seven days after the advertiser had accepted the review. However, once that you complete the review, then the payment is immediately credited into you account. Paypal is the only means to withdraw earnings from this site, so I highly recommend to have an account with them.

My recent penchant with the wonders of Windows Vista is something to behold. Unlike the time when it was first introduced in the market, many older hardware and software are not truly prepared for the ultimate functionality of this new operating system. It is a fact that many users still stick to the old Windows XP (I’m relieved that I don’t see Windows 98 anymore).

The cycle of introducing new software in the market just repeats over and over whenever Microsoft gets to release a new operating system to the world. There are still many who are comfortable using older hardware and software. Numerous negative write-ups about the new software would come out. This happened during the transition from Windows 98 to Windows XP software. But the IT industry truly demanding so it has to work at a very dynamic pace; eventually older technology gives way to improvements in computing. Now, I’ve noticed a lot of notebooks sold in computer stores with a version of Windows Vista software. I have to admit I still like Windows a lot better than using Linux technologies primarily because of software compatibility, better customer support and ease of use.

One of the first things noticeable with Windows Vista is its Aero look. Windows Vista takes advantage of the 64-bit technology in the form of hardware stuff. I am pretty much sure that once that the hardware and software catches up, I would surely see that the general public would be keen to trading in their Windows XP to the new feel and look, convenience and better security of this new operating system.

Not all ATM/debit cards in the Philippines work with Paypal. There are some credit cards that work for verification, but I have not successfully identified which credit cards that work. But for those who do not own any credit card, then the Unionbank EON card is the only card that can work well for Paypal verification.

Many new Unionbank EON card users are not able to successfully continue with the verification process in Paypal. Even if they got the new card at hand and activated, Paypal would still return the message that it cannot verify the card. This could be frustrating, because it is not really so easy to wait for the Unionbank EON card then finding out that it would not work with Paypal verification.

I think this has something to do with a minor bug on Unionbank EON debit card. The card has to contain any transaction history, even just for one entry before it can be used for Paypal verification. One way to create transaction history is to deposit funds over-the-counter.

Paypal takes away a verification fee of $1.95 from the Unionbank EON bank account, so put in funds that will cover more than this fee in Pesos. If successful this verification fee goes into the Paypal account after a few weeks. If the Paypal verification does not work successfully then the amount deducted by Paypal will be returned in full to your Unionbank EON bank account.

Remember that the Unionbank EON debit card is simply needed for verifying Paypal so that funds can be withdrawn to any Philippine bank account by electronic funds transfer.