Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Protecting Businesses and Consumers Alike

Government must be at the forefront of utilizing information and technology to lessen transaction costs and bring in more business and income to the country and the Filipinos. ( See E-Commerce Act, Sec. 27c)

UP Diliman has made successful programs in line with this goal. When I was an undergraduate in the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, I had to undergo the ordeal of enlisting subjects for several days. My enrollment, which, under number circumstances, would have taken just about thirty minutes maximum, stretches for several days due to the long lines, unavailability of subjects and professors, oh and did I mention long times?

But the upperclassmen told me that I had it easy. The time that they enrolled, they literally had some people line up during the wee hours of the morning just so they are able to get the class that they wanted with a specific professor. They said it was due to the lack of organization in the enlistment system and the manpower. UP simply had too little funds to get the manpower that they need to cope with the demand.

But then, with Internet and computers for that matter, being more accessible and affordable, and CRS Online, I now literally just breezed through the enlistment system. The list was all ready when I got to school, I just have to have them checked, pay the tuition and I am well on my way home. No more waiting in long lines, just for that couple of seconds that the person in charge of enlistment scratches your name on the paper containing the list of students of your desired class.

Well, that was what I thought. I got to the line where tuition would be paid and was surprised to see it teeming with people. It took me more time than I thought it would. Everything seemed so perfect. But then, I brushed it aside, no big deal. It took just a couple of minutes, anyway, it was so much better than it was while we were in undergraduate school, right?

Looking back, I know there was something wrong with that attitude. If there was still room for improvement, it would not be enough to just stick it out with the situation thinking that the now was better to how it was before.

Prior to going to law school, I was contemplating on taking up my studies abroad. I looked up some of the universities in the US (see www.marquette.edu as an example), and I was amazed as to how they got everything set up. From the enlistment, down to the payment of tuition, books and fees, students just go online to do everything. In a matter of minutes, armed with a computer, their student ID number, credit/debit card number, they are registered and enrolled, from the comfort of their own home. No more going to school a couple of days before the ‘real classes’ start just to do all these, which saves the schools and the students, concurrently, time and money. For those who pay their tuition through student loans from various banks, they just give their loan reference numbers and the school corresponds with a representative from the said bank. Receipts, loan forms, and application forms take the form of electronic documents, their printed out forms valid when presented on occasion that the student is asked by the school to do so.

Why is it that this is not possible here?

Currently, you can only pay the school on a cash-only basis. No checks, please. So during tuition time, you bring your 18k which is the average fee for students taking the normal load for the semester, which is a bit of a hassle and scary to say the least. Riding the jeep in Philcoa, which is notorious for pickpockets and such is not an easy feat, you know.

Paying online would be the best way to go. But then, the use of debit cards has yet to become popular here. Furthermore, people still have a distrustful attitude towards paying online, thinking that it would not be safe. That is why if such a method is adopted, pains must be taken to ensure the security of these transactions.

There is so much furor about making transactions safe for the end-users. But are there enough safeguards as well for the businesses themselves?

This brings to mind the conversation I had with a former classmate, as to why UP was not accepting checks anymore (they used to a couple of years back). We surmised that it was probably because of the fact that a lot of students have been paying checks that later on ‘bounced’, and the school just does not want to deal with such happening, who would right?

The school was accepting cash only, to ensure that all enrolled students would have paid. I believe if we adopt online transactions, it will have the same effect. When someone pays online, with a debit card, for example, in real-time, one will know if there were sufficient funds to make the payment.

Consumers must be protected by the laws in their transactions online (See RA 7394: The Consumer Act of the Philippines, with reference to the E-Commerce Act, Section: Penalties). But at the same time, there must also be more laws to protect the businesses themselves from fraud, for example, in online transactions.

Yes, government must lead in maximizing the use of technology. UP has taken steps to such an end, and in time, it would be good to see else it would do in the future.

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