I attended a conference conducted by Bancnet last June 8, 2013 held at Marriot Hotel Cebu. Bancnet is the largest ATM consortium in the Philippines. Bancnet started as a company in 1987 and started ATM operations in 1990. Now, Bancnet has 108 member banks, 10,030 ATMs, 17,915 POS (Point of Sale) & 26.80 M cardholders.

I work in a bank and I handle ATM complaints in our branch. It is not easy facing raging clients who withdrew in our ATM (bank's). What's worse is that I couldn't give the undispensed money back because it's against the bank's policy. They will have to wait 5 banking days for the money to be credited back to their account if the transaction is proven as such. This conference really helped me a lot to understand how the ATM transaction flows at branch level, when data is transmitted thru Bancnet and when the data is transmitted to other banks server's and then vice versa. I was so overwhelmed with the information I got during the conference that I still have to re write my notes all over again as to not confuse myself where to start discussing. So I am going to focus on ATM Complaints, Inter Bank Fund Transfer and POS (Point of Sale).

Ever wonder what happens when you withdraw then cash isn't dispensed? I'm going to give you a sneak peak of an ATM transaction flow. 

Terminologies: [Issuer Bank - is the bank that issues the ATM card], [Acquirer Bank - is the bank that retrieves ATM card info and pass it on to Bancnet because data on your card couldn't be found in their host.] 

Here's an example of an ATM transaction flow.

Allied Bank cardholder --> China Bank Savings ATM (Acquirer Bank) --> CBS Host --> Bancnet --> AB Host (Issuer Bank)

Say you are an AB cardholder and you withdrew in a CBS ATM. Once card is inserted into CBS ATM it'll start transmitting data into the CBS host first. CBS host reads the data and identifies if the cardholder is their client. Since it is not their client, CBS host passes the data to Bancnet and first identifies if it is one of their member banks. Allied Bank is a member of Bancnet so Bancnet forwarded the data to the AB host. Once AB host verifies the data that it is their client, the account is funded and debits the account it'll transmit back the data to Bancnet then to the CBS host. Unfortunately, China Bank Savings' (CBS) system was offline so the connection was cut off. So that's how the complaints are born and me in the branch braces myself for raging clients. =D Here comes the complaint: The account was debited and the cash wasn't dispensed.

What should you do?

> First complain to the Acquirer Bank (CBS) since it is where you withdrew your (un dispensed) money. The bank cannot give the money back because that's not how it goes and is against the bank's policy. 
> Details needed in filling out the complaint form: Your name, Issuer Bank, Acquirer Bank, Account number, Card number, Transaction date & time & your signature. YOU SHOULD OWN THE CARD eg. your NAME should be on the ATM Card & YOUR SIGNATURE! Why emphasize on this? Some clients complain even if "technically" it's not their card. For instance, the one who uses the card is the daughter of the "cardholder". In that case, let the cardholder (the mother) go to the acquirer and issuer bank to file the complain. 
> After filing the complaint in CBS, go to your bank of account (Allied Bank) and file also the complaint. 
The Issuer Bank also couldn't give you the money because again that's not how it goes. The importance of filing the complaint in your bank of account is that they would be aware of the transaction and when the banks' (CBS & AB) ATM Center starts to reconcile your complaint, it'll be faster and easier to pin point the transaction.
> Patiently wait 5 banking days for the amount you withdrew to be credited back to your account if the transaction is proven as such.

What I do at Branch level?

I am the one who faces clients with ATM Complaints and let them sign a complaint form. I also do reconciliation at branch level. I check the reports base on the information on the complaint form and forward it to our ATM Center. Our bank's ATM Center will be the one to contact the other bank's ATM Center for reconciliation which involves crediting back your account. ATM Centers aren't the ones who credit the account okay? They are the ones who coordinate with branches or banks so your complaints will be process and your money will be given back to you.

In cases of CARDS CAPTURED, you should visit the branch (where the ATM is situated or the bank owning the ATM) ASAP if you don't want your ATM card to be perforated! Please don't get mad at us upon visiting the branch if your card was already gone because it is past the retention period. Retention period for Bancnet and Express Net ATM cards would be 2 banking days from the date of capture. If your card was captured on a Monday, your card will be perforated on Wednesday. As for Megalink ATM cards, it'd be 3 banking days from date of capture. 

When you claim a captured card, please make sure IT IS YOUR CARD. Like I said before, your name and signature should be on it. ATM cards captured without name and signature at the back are perforated immediately. Please bring two valid IDs upon claiming because we will be comparing your signature on the ATM card to your IDs. I will apologize first hand that bank's couldn't release the card if it's not "technically" yours. I already sited an example on this. Not releasing your card without name and signature is also for the cardholder's security. 

I really hope this blog entry helped you and change how you view banks if your card or money are not dispensed or released. One more reminder, your money, card and transaction receipt is retracted back into the machine after 5 seconds. So chop! chop! in getting those okay?

Cards from VISA, MC, Diner's Club, Discovery, Union Pay and JCB, Inter Bank Fund Transfer and POS will be in another blog post. Thank you for the conference, Bancnet! =)

Imma sleep now! Cheers! =)






WELCOME!

It's summer and I have my fair share of summer outings and pictures. This year my awesome office mates decided to go to Bantayan Island. It's an island at the tip of Cebu and it's such a shame that I haven't been there after all these years let alone..being a Cebuana! Teehee! Bantayan Island is like a mini Boracay minus the heavy commercialization of the place and I hope it'll stay that way in the upcoming years because it would destroy the serenity and the pristine feel of the place. It's a perfect place to relax, spend time with your friends and loved ones. So the question is how to get there.....

Heaven on earth
It takes 3 hours from North Bus terminal to get to San Remigio ( this is where you will board a ferry going to the Island) so I suggest you guys should meet up early. If you are not from Cebu, you can take a taxi from the airport going to the North Bus terminal (near SM City Cebu; travel time around 20 minutes). 

Travel Time (North Bus to San Remigio) : more or less 3 hours
Bus:             There are lots of buses going to Bantayan but the most common is the Ceres bus liner.
Fare:            Php  150.00

When you arrive at San Remigio, it's time to board a ferry. The ticket costs Php 180.00.  Travel time is more or less 1 hour. While waiting arrival, you can take pictures of the wonderful piercing blue sea.

While boarding the ferry....=)
Arrival!
We stayed at Budyong Beach Resort. Our room costs Php 1,700.00 good for 4 persons plus extra charges of Php 150.00 for additional persons inclusive of a cushion bed. It was great coz our room was at the beach front. Just be careful if you decide to let them cook your food coz they charge a big fat amount! They charged us Php 500.00 just for cooking 1 kg of hotdog, corned beef , bacon, & 9 pcs. of eggs. So yeah...we learned. =D In fairness to Budyong Beach Resort, according to them they are independent with the restaurant who cooked our food. So they have a different management and owners I guess.

chill

Serenity
Pristine








Bantayan Island is heaven on earth. Great beach, awesome food, awesome people...2 days wasn't enough and I want to go back there again and again.

Thank you Bantayan! It was a blast! =)





I miss blogging! I'll start my year by creating a new blog entry after a year! So this was how my 2012 was. 

Late of 2011 I started to look for a job. The saying "Everything happens for a reason" is true. I wasn't really happy with my first job but I had to suck it in since I had no choice because I already accepted the offer. After 2 months, another company called  for an interview and I got accepted. So I resigned from my previous job. This new work just had positive things going on from the beginning. I had to fly to Manila for the orientation and training. It's just so amazing when you can go to other places because of work. I loved it! I also met with my friend who was in a review in Manila. To cut the story short, I AM LOVING IT.

My Lovely Office mates with partners (some)  =)

I couldn't ask for better office mates because they are the best. It is a great feeling when you wake up in the morning and not dread the day because you have to go to work. I always look forward to go to work. That's how happy I am in my current company. 

2012 was a career and love year. =D My heart is happy again after 2 years.

Things to look forward in 2013:

> Being a fully regular employee and enjoy the benefits.
> Our Cagayan trip in August.
> Eurobasket 2013.
> HOPEFULLY a Super Junior concert!!!!
> More time with the people I love.

Happy New Year!




I wrote this article after Super Junior's concert early this year here in the Philippines but I had to keep it away from the internet because I sent this to Pulp Mag hoping it gets published but sadly it wasn't. Hope you enjoy reading my AWESOME SUPER JUNIOR EXPERIENCE!! =)


I became a fan of Super Junior right after they had a concert here in the Philippines April of last year. I was already a KPOP fan that time but I didn't pay attention to Super Junior until my friend showed me fancams of their SS2 Manila concert. My friend also told me how they were so close with each other, how they loved their fans and all those positive notes about Super Junior. In an INSTANT I became a fan. I started watching their music videos and performances. It was soo perfect since they had their comeback summer of 2010 that was Bonamana. I loved that song! When Ms. Happee Sy announced that they will bring back Super Junior in the Philippines, my friend and I didn't hesitate to give go signals to watch their concert.


Starting June of 2010, we already started saving for the concert tickets. I am so thankful that Ms. Happee announced the concert date super ahead of time as to give us fans time to save up. Since we are from Cebu, we have to save up double time because our expenses will be doubled. We have to pay for the plane ticket, concert ticket and hotel accommodation. It's still 9 months before the concert but we (my friend) talked about SS3 Manila like it's a month away already. Then both of us would spazz talking about it.


We were so sad that the Ticketing Event was cancelled. It was supposed to be an event where fans from different cities in the country would have had a chance to grab the best seats in the concert but sadly it was cancelled.


By October 2010, we already booked for a plane ticket from Manila to Cebu. Weird right? :D The reason was it was a promo by the airline company so we grabbed the opportunity. We need to be super thrifty since we have doubled expenses since we are from Cebu.


Fast forward to the selling of tickets last December 1, 2010. Ticketnet SM Cebu opens @ 10 AM. My other friend ( there were 4 of us who watched the concert) accompanied me at SM Cebu. Believe it or not, I skipped classes just to buy tickets because we were panicking that we might not be able to get the best seats. We excitedly count the money and our world crashed when the in charge told us we need to reserve online. We didn't know that UPPER A CENTER seats needs online reservation, we were panicking. We immediately looked for the nearest internet cafe inside the mall. It was really nerve wracking. After we sent our reservation, we ate our lunch (nervously) hoping to get a reply from Ticketnet but sadly we didn't. The in-charge in Ticketnet SM Cebu told us to just call Ticketnet main office for a faster transaction. I didn't know my friend was constantly calling the main office and fortunately we got in! So we reserved tickets through the phone and paid at Ticketnet SM Cebu and got our tickets! Though we wanted the UPPER A CENTER Section 300-302, but it's okay as long as we already have our tickets, we can now breath. We got UA CENTER 319 Row I by the way it was soooo worth it! We were so ecstatic to get hold of our tickets.


After we bought our tickets, we immediately booked a flight from CEBU to MANILA. Yes, it was again a promo by an airline company. As I have said we had to be super thrifty. =))


Fast forward 3 days before the concert. We were so busy making the projects. :) We had so much fun making it. It was like a pre-celebration for the four of us. We were so excited that our goal for that day was to finish all of it like tomorrow was already the date of the concert but in reality we still have another day to finish it. =)) We were like "wait..diba we still have Feb 25 evening to finish all of this?". Hahah! So we went home and excitedly packed our bags for Manila. I slept only for 2 hours. Our flight was @ 6:10 AM so we had to be 2 hours early in the airport. As soon as my friends arrived, we greeted each other with a VERY BIG SMILE on our faces that indicate the "This is it" expression. We also had a fellow passenger who was gonna watch the concert too. Why I knew she was going to SS3 Manila? She was wearing a "Siwon ♥" shirt! She sat in line with us. :) So we arrived at NAIA at 730 AM and went straight to the hotel.





February 26, 2011:
We went to SUJU fiesta since we weren't able to go on Feb 25. SUJU fiesta was great! It was a SUJU haven! I usually don't like wearing ballers but I did buy because I just can't resist. It was a SS3 Manila baller. :) I also bought the PULP SS2 Manila edition at Pulp's booth. My other friend had a meet up with her friend who was from Manila. So we waited in front of Araneta just to feel the SS3 Manila essence. It was sooo great seeing lots of ELFs flocking in Araneta wearing their customized SUJU shirts. I also saw some Absolute All Access Korean staff taking pictures outside Araneta. The local security personnel really had this "I can't believe this" look while scanning the front (red) gate of Araneta coliseum like he couldn't believe there is much love for Super Junior. My other friend came back from her meet up so we went back to our hotel to prep ourselves for the concert.


This is it.
When we arrived at the hotel, we took pictures of the merchandise we bought from SUJU fiesta. It occupied more than half of our hotel bed! :D We also included our BONAMANA version A albums, concert tickets and light sticks in the picture. :) It took us almost 30 minutes to take pics of our merchandise then we really prepped for the concert. We wore our customized Super Show 3 shirts. We also had a run through the fan projects and we were good to go!


This is REALLY IS IT.
We were so excited. We arrived at Araneta entered the gates, walked up the stairs and then there it was the door through UA Center section 319. We were so excited to see the stage and it didn't fail us. It was OVERWHELMING. We were so dazed. We sat in our seat and we were like "OMG" this is GREAT. Then I scanned the venue, there were a lot of fans already inside Araneta and then I got teary-eyed. My friend told me to calm down and I said "Jen, this is sooo great. I can't believe we are here." We took pictures.


Fast forward @ 7PM. This is really is it. The lights were off. The music was on! The feeling was unexplainable! Like in the past, we only watched through fancams but at that moment we were right there watching SUJU live! Then the introduction of the members on the big screen made the people go crazy! The big dome was about to crack because of the endless screaming of ELFs. Then there they were. Donghae flying. It was funny because my friend, Michelle, didn't notice Donghae was already up in the air. She kept on wondering what was happening. LOL! We just stood the whole time. We only sat if they took a break and showed us some funny video on the big screen. The fan projects were so fun! We really participated. Every after performance we would ran back to our seats (we stood at the aisle of 320 and 319 but we made sure that we didn't disturb other ELFs watching the concert) and look for the next fan project. There was also a time that we forgot what fan project was next and we would browse our SS3 Manila guide and to think Araneta was so dark at that time. We used our light stick so we can read what fan project was next. :D My favorite perfomance was It Has To Be You by Yesung. My friend, Jennifer, and I were fans of the Korean drama series, Cinderella's Sister. We were so thrilled when Yesung sang it and we really practiced the lyrics. Come Yesung's turn, we sang----- shout at the top of our lungs hoping Yesung would hear our singing. :) It was such a GREAT FEELING. Yesung's smile after his performance was PRICELESS! Every time I watched that performance.....goosebumps.  Fast forward to their last song, Wonder Boy. :( My friends and I were waiting for them to sing You Are The One because the fan project the organizers prepared for this would show how Filipino ELFs love Super Junior by waving our Bonamana version A album but unfortunately they didn't. They had the best English parade at the end of the concert. Eunhyuk's "You are so gorgeous" made the fans scream like hell. :D Leeteuk's "Are you happy?" line was so funny. Donghae's "Good Job" and "How do you fear (feel)?" was sooo hot and funny respectively. :D Of course, Henry's "You are the LOUDEST" made the people scream like your eardrums would break! We were so thrilled when Henry said this. Then here it comes their goodbye. :( Super Junior members walked around the stage to say thank you to their fans and the fans were screaming "Kajima". Kajima means don't go in Korean. :( So one by one, all of them disappeared through the backstage. :( It was the end. It was such a memorable night. It was the best night of my life. Super Junior is not just an idol to us fans. We immediately missed them as soon as they went backstage. It's not only their looks why I love Super Junior. I love SUJU's brotherhood. I haven't found any KPOP group that possesses the kind of brotherhood they have. I love the way they dance, sing, act, host, and make us laugh. Some non-fans wouldn't understand this because they have a misconception that if you love SUJU, you love them because of their looks. We didn't immediately go outside the Araneta Coliseum. We stayed inside around 15 minutes and then we went back to our hotel so HIGH with Super Junior drugs.


At the hotel after the concert.
We were so high! We kept talking about what happened during the concert. We watched our fancams and pictures until 5 AM! Yes until 5 AM! Who would want to sleep after a Super Junior concert? Of course all you want to do is talk about it! Then come 5 AM we slept because we still had a flight back to Cebu at 10 AM. :D




At the airport.
While waiting for our flight, my friend, Glesh, and I listened to Super Junior songs. Jennifer and I (yes, we have the same name) shared my earphones. We listened to Bonamana. We were okay then because it was a dance song but when Good Person was playing, all that happened during the concert sank in. It finally hit me that it was OVER. I cried like a baby. I cried like I am never going to see Super Junior again. :'( After Good Person, It Has To Be You was playing, Jennifer and I, just BAWLED. It was one of our favorite songs and we had fun singing along with Yesung last night. I noticed Glesh was like hiding something, I looked at her and she was also CRYING! Then all 4 of us were crying already! Our flight was announced and we board the plane. We didn't want to go. We still want to watch more Super Shows. So, we flew back to Cebu with feelings of sadness because we are going to miss watching Super Junior and a feeling of happiness because AFTER 9 MONTHS WE ALREADY SAW THEM AT LAST.


Thank you Ms. Happee and Pulp for making this possible. Please produce SS4. We are begging.


THANKS A LOT! SUPER JUNIOR HWAITING!


I am such a fan of the Harry Potter series. In less than a month we will witness the final battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.....in the big screens. Not all Harry Potter films were great but now that it's about to end, I felt guilty for harshly critiquing some HP films in the past. It's such a great feeling when you look forward to a HP film every year. So this entry is DEDICATED TO ALL THE HARRY POTTER FANS out there.  I found this awesome "thank you" letter (this really DESERVES a SPOT IN MY BLOG)  to some of the characters of the series. I got this from an online forum. The member who posted it got this from Tumblr but didn't post a source link. (Whoever the owner of this piece, thank you for writing this one and hope I could borrow it. =D)

Here it goes:

Mr. Harry Potter,
Thank you for remaining strong when we couldn’t be.

Mr. Ronald Weasley,
Thank you for always coming back.

Miss Hermione Granger,
Thank you for having a good heart.

Mr. George Weasley,
Thank you for finding humor when we could barely smile.

Mr. Percy Weasley,
Thank you for believing in the power of family.

Mr. Albus Dumbledore,
Thank you for lighting the way.

Mr. Dudley Dursley,
Thank you for seeing kindness.

Mr. & Mrs. Weasley,
Thank you for all you sacrificed.

Mr. Sirius Black and Mr. Remus Lupin,
Thank you for your loyalty. 

Mr. Rubeus Hagrid,
Thank you for your undying compassion. 

Mr. Neville Longbottom
Thank you for your bravery.

Miss Luna Lovegood, 
Thank you for your wise words.

Dobby- free elf,
Thank you for showing us the value of friendship. 

Mr. Fred Weasley, 
Thank you for the memories.

And to Mr. Severus Snape,
Thank you for your love.

And to Mrs. Joanne Kathleen Rowling,
Thank you for my childhood.


Gonna miss  watching these three.

Thank you JK Rowling for writing such an awesome series. I will be forever a fan of HP.

♪♫♪♫ ♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♫♫♪♪♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪ <----- This? Just randomness. Hahah!

I can't live without music so when my Creative MP3 player gave up on me after 5 years of service I was really sad. It was a high school graduation gift from my aunt. When I graduated college last year, I kept nagging my mom to buy me an another music player. She didn't give the okay signal back then but early this year she finally gave in. =D 

The name Creative faded already. My old mp3 player really looked messy. Hahha!

Messy...Especially the back side. I lost the battery cover.

I chose Apple's iPod Touch because I love its features like you can use it as a music player, watch videos, put lots of application (with different functions!) and of course it is Wi-Fi ready. Sadly, I didn't foresee that I'll be putting a lot of videos from my Korean entertainment addiction so I already had to delete some of my applications. Yes, I bought the 8 GB one because I really don't want to burden my mom even more for a more expensive gadget but really I'm regretting it now. Haha! I really don't mind having little applications in my iPod Touch because the main reason why I bought this is because I want to listen to MUSIC everywhere I am. =) 

When you take videos using the iPod Touch, it really has a great quality. I took a video during Super Junior's 2nd concert here in the Philippines and the video and sound quality was really good. Too bad I didn't know how to zoom in so the artists were like ants in my video. =D You guys know how? Please do tell me how to zoom in while taking a video. =D I really don't have the knack to thoroughly explore things. Haha!

My favorite application would be the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Do I sound so geeky? No? Okay then. =D Since I also read books and watch Korean series some of the English subs gives you nosebleed especially in historical dramas that uses really deep and ancient words (For instance, I was watching this historical drama called Chuno. The English sub says "harebrained tomfoolery". I don't know those words! =D), I easily just typed in the words and voila! =D My other apps include CNN and BBC World News. =D These three apps will surely not be deleted...oh VLC app too. 

My new baby with Kim Heechul of Super Junior. Hahah!
Piece of advise. If you are going to buy an iTouch make sure to buy a 32GB memory or higher. Why did you choose your current music player? =) If you own an Apple gadget, what is your fave application? =)


Fangirl mode in 3...2...1


I was addicted to this Korean historical drama, Chuno/The Slave Hunters. The root of this addiction is Lee Jong Hyuk. He is a Korean actor known for either the other guy or being an antagonist in a drama. He is not the super handsome boy next door type. I just love his charisma in playing those roles. I became his fan after watching Formidable Rivals/Powerful Opponents in KBS World. Lee Jong Hyuk plays as the assassin, Hwang Chul Woong, in Chuno who was enslaved by his ambitions.





Lee Jong Hyuk as Hwang Chul Woong

EDIT: I'm so happy!! There's this Twitter fan account of LEE JONG HYUK (@LeeJongHyuk_fan) and he tweeted back!!!! He said 감사합니당^^ or Thank You in English! Waaaa!!! ♥


Now the Chuno addiction. I never really blogged about Kdramas in my personal blog but this one is an exception because I just super love this drama. I regret not watching this drama in its original run on KBS World. I wasn't able to watch the last episode while streaming at dramafans.org because the link was broken ( of all the episodes..grr) and that left me so restless finding for a Chuno DVD. Desperate measures knocks in and I searched on the internet for an orginal DVD but was discouraged because it costs Php 5249!! I searched for a Kdrama seller on the net who downloads them and burns it in a blank CD. That's the best option I had so after 3 days, I got myself a Chuno DVD. =D 

For a bird's eye view of the drama, please visit my other blog Chuno/The Slave Hunters  .

I was left speechless after watching the last episode. JANG HYUK's acting was just AMAZING. He made the character, LEE DAEGIL, soooo memorable. He really deserved all those Daesang awards last year and for those awards that he didn't win screw those award giving bodies because JANG HYUK'S acting was beyond amazing in this drama. Lee Jong Hyuk was an AMAZING antagonist too. Ironic as it sounds I LOVE THE WAY THE DRAMA ENDED. Almost all the characters had closure but I wished General Choi and Wangson was there when Daegil died though. Hwang Chul Woong felt remorse at the end. Taeha and Hyewon will continue to change the world one step at a time. When I think about Chuno/The Slave Hunters, there is only one name that first pops out of my mind and that is LEE DAEGIL. Daegil deserved the "epic hero" ending. He gave up his life saving his only beloved, Eunyeon, and telling her to live with happiness with Song Taeha (super duper ouch!). Real love is unselfish.

I really cried watching the scene of Seolhwa and Daegil in the last part where Daegil was dying. I was a Daegil/Seolhwa shipper at first but realized no one can replace Eunyeon in Daegil's heart. Daegil's treatment to Seolhwa was like a little sister. This line from Daegil made me cry even more.

Daegil (dying): "Seolhwa, I'm sorry. Darkness surrounded me, that's why I couldn't see your heart was beating for me."

Before Daegil died, he asked her to sing him a song but when Seolhwa asked him what song will she sing for him, Daegil stopped talking...........and he died in the arms of Seolhwa. *sob sob sob* =( 

Well at least he didn't die alone and he was with a woman who loved him. Gosh, even typing this one I still feel sad and teary-eyed. Seolhwa loves singing and the actress who plays her, Kim Ha Eun, has a really good trot voice. =) 

Result after watching the ending? PUFFY EYES! Hahha. =))

Quotes from the drama:

"A life of simplicity is a wise man's greatest virtue." - Lee Daegil

"For with great ambitions, come even greater challenges." - Monk  (I forgot the name =D)

Currently, Chuno is my most favorite Kdrama and it is one of the best indeed. Everything about Chuno is great.  The actors down to the supporting one, cinematography (I suggest when you watch this drama view it in the highest possible pixel), fight scenes (hawt! rawr!), and the OST ( I always listen to the OST right now even the instrumental ones!). I will never get tired watching this drama over and over again.