Into the 20th Century!

New microwave!  Anne helped me puchase it online yesterday and it arrived the next evening. 24 hours!  pretty good.  Their online purchasing system is a bit different than what we're used to in the west.  Credit is still a tricky business over here and they don't have credit cards like we are used to using.  Therefore, purchasing things online requires more of a "debit" card style purchase.

There are several different types of payment methods for buying online.  Two of the more unusual styles are using ATM transfer and 7-11/IBON.

I paid using the ATM transfer method.  How this works, is when you purchase an item online, the vendor sends you their bank account number and bank institution number.  You then walk over to your banks ATM machine, stick your card in like you normally would, and then you use an on-screen interface to transfer your money directly from your bank account into theirs.  The account numbers are over 12 digits long so you want to make sure you don't mis-type it!  Once you make this payment, your order is confirmed and gets shipped.

The 7-11/IBON system works a bit differently.  You purchase the item online just like before, but when you're finished, you have to physically walk to a 7-11 and use the IBON machine.  It's basically a touch screen sitting in the corner of the 7-11 where you log into and get it to print out a receipt which has a barcode.  You then take this receipt with a barcode to the 7-11 cashier where they scan it in, and then you pay the cashier the balance.

As for delivery, you can have it delivered to your house as usual (or in my case, to the concierge/security desk) OR for those who do not have that service or a mail box, you can have pick-up service at the 7-11.  So basically the vendor delivers your item to your requested 7-11 store and you go and pick it up from behind the counter.  Kind of cool!