Five years ago, 40-year-old working mom Jessica Florendo never imagined that her passion for online shopping would lead to where she is now—an independent supplier of imported materials for beads and clay enthusiasts all over the country.

Everyday, Jessica plays the role of an efficient and reliable editorial assistant at a media outfit. But once at home, Jessica logs into her Multiply account and starts taking orders from her very loyal clientele. Jessica started as a buyer at e-Bay Philippines where she often shopped for clothes, bags and accessories. Later, however, she decided to also try her hand at selling stuff. With no idea what to do, Jessica turned to the Net for inspiration where she stumbled upon a clay making site. “I wanted to find a way to supplement my income and be productive of my time. And since I also wanted to be different, I took up lessons in clay making. That was when I realized that there’s a big market for it. So from there, tuloy-tuloy na,” she said.

Jessica’s first site is jigsandclays.multiply.com where she displays the crafts that she herself makes. Later on, she came up with beadershub.multiply.com, which caters to those who are on the lookout for beading materials not available locally. Jessica also has favorsgallery.multiply.com for imported souvenirs as well as for uniquely done giveaways with her signature touch.

When she was still a buyer, Jessica had to pay through the bank for her online purchases since e-Bay sellers do not accept credit cards. However, when she became a seller herself, Jessica realized that online sellers in the Philippines, especially microentrepreneurs, will hardly survive without a cheaper alternative to bank payments. That made Jessica decide to explore the possibility of using GCASH which happened to be a favorite mode of payment among Multiply sellers.

GCASH is an electronic wallet that allows Globe and TM subscribers to easily send and receive money using their cell phones. They can also use their GCASH wallet to pay for goods and services and settle their bills at participating establishments through an easy-to-navigate GCASH menu embedded in their SIM cards.

Jessica said that her customers, especially those in the provinces such as Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Cebu, and General Santos, demand for payment through GCASH due to the convenience it provides. “Most of our buyers get turned off if we do not offer GCASH as a payment option,” Jessica explained. About 95 percent of her transactions are in GCASH while the rest are in bank deposits.

“Most online sellers prefer GCASH because it is fast and efficient. For instance, I can receive the payment within seconds and I can directly check and verify if the payment has already been sent by the buyer. Also, with GCASH you can cash in anytime and anywhere without any surcharge,” she said. Since the buyer shoulders all the risks when paying through GCASH, Jessica advised them to make sure that the online sellers are trustworthy before sealing any deals, especially for high-ticket items.

Globe, on the other hand, said that to ensure security of transactions, prospective buyers may call the 24/7 GCASH Hotline 2882 toll-free from their Globe cellphone or 739-2882 from any landline to verify the GCASH number given them. GCASH has a list of registered subscribers whose identities are already established. For safe, secure and convenient shopping, Globe also encouraged both buyers and sellers to utilize GCASH Click, a facility that integrates online payment via SMS with a pick-up and delivery service via Delbros. With GCASH Click, Delbros will pick up and deliver the purchased items while holding the payment temporarily until the merchandise is successfully received and accepted by the buyer.