| How Moneymanager can create wealth
for Nigerians
– Madumere, MD, Torricellian Trust Limited
By SEUN ADESIDA
Monday,
September 3, 2007
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Madumere
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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It is usual to see people send recharge cards to others as
a way of transfering money. What happens is that the receiver
is always paid less than the original cost of the recharge
card by way of discounting. But one man has come up with a
plan to solve the problem which had sometimes pitched friends
against one another.
Mr Godwin Madumere is the Chief Executive Officer of Torricellian
Trust Limited, the holding company of MoneyManager, an instant
cash transfer facility which enables money to be sent from
one person to the other within Nigeria through the Internet.
Madumere explained to Daily Sun how the system operates and
why it is necessary for Nigerians to accept and incorporate
it into their money transfer system.
He said he set out for the project after he discovered that
his inability to get the presidency approve his pet project
to solve the problem of militancy and pipeline vandalisation
in the Niger-Delta.
Therefore to escape the viscious circle of frustration, he
stumbled on the idea which today has become a company that
has revolutuionized payment solution within the Nigerian economic
and financial system.
He said the product is an economic empowerment tool in that
it will create wealth opportunities and empowerment for the
Nigeria work force.
Background
I went to school in Nigeria and overseas, I have a masters
in International Relations, I have worked in the United States,
and with Soffex of South Africa. What we were doing then was
curbing vandalisation of pipelines, and I also worked with
the United Nations briefly.
As a matter of fact, what we were doing then was curbing vandalisation
of pipelines in South Africa, that was one of the things that
brought me to Nigeria. We want to use satellite to conduct
total area surveillance of all the NNPC pipelines across the
nation.
What we wanted to do at that time was to put electronic chips
on the pipelines, which you cannot see, so any movement from
a few meter will be picked by the chips.
Any movement close to any pipeline will be picked by the electronic
chip and sent to the satellite and the satellite will beam
it on the screen of monitoring offices and the same messages
will by sent to mobile lines of all security personnel involved
in the project.
It will equally alert NNPC, and you will see the movement
of the criminals approaching the pipeline and their location.
After that, helicopters and vehicles will move to that position
and secure it before any damage is done to the pipeline. We
went as far as demonstrating it to NNPC and they bought the
idea but asked us to take it to the Presidency under Obasanjo.
By the time we got to the Presidency, there was a big wall
that prevented us from penetrating the presidency.
In order not to get frustrated, I started fiddling with other
ideas and that was where the idea of working on cards to transfer
money came. I was able to design it because I have worked
with Western Union in South Africa. It took us three years
because we have been working with Central Bank for almost
two years for us to get everything verified and check all
the security aspect of it, and they saw the entire job we
have done with the banks and the public before the apex bank
gave us the nod to go ahead with the product.
So, in partnership with one other person, we started working
on how it will work within our system. During our research,
we discovered that there were some areas where you have these
cards, but it’s within the banks. We had to look at
how we can bring it out of the bank and bring it directly
to the people, such that without any account in a bank you
can also use it.
Marketing
Before we came out with the product, we carried out a thorough
investigation to feel the pulse of the people. This is to
know if they were ready for this, and we found out that everybody
was ready, even the banks.
The problem of one going to the bank to stand for some hours
in order to transfer money is a big problem. If you are a
very busy executive, father, businessman or a person, for
you to find time and go to the bank and stand to send money
is a big problem.
The person receiving the money can go anywhere and collect
the money, it is the receiver who finds time to go to the
bank and wait through the system. In essence, the problem
is resolved through this product.
Wherever you are, you can get these cards, seat in the comfort
of your home or office and scratch the cards and send it to
the beneficiary.
Moneymanager ATM card
The Moneymanger ATM card will be available in areas where
ATM machines are located within our major cities, but we are
looking at using the post offices in areas where there are
no banks or ATM machines. We are going to use filling stations.
One of the banks is already contracting one of the largest
filling stations in Nigeria to use as outlets for paying out
small amount of money like N2000, N5000, but the bigger amount
will be paid through the banks or the ATMs. In some areas,
we are looking at getting agents as outlets for payment in
the villages.
Product software
You don’t have to go into a bank to send money; the
next thing was how to make this thing work, we discovered
we needed software.
The idea needs good software to drive it, without this software,
it is just a paper idea, so I have to look for a company within
Nigeria because we wanted it to be a Nigerian thing. There
are companies abroad but we settled for NigeriaNet. It was
the company that developed the software that is powering the
Moneymanger.
CBN approval
It took them a while before they could write the software
before we presented it to Central Bank of Nigeria, and it
took us another two years because CBN did a thorough job.
I commend them because you would expect that somewhere along
the line, somebody will demand for something to make the verification
process shorter but there was nothing like that.
They won’t allow me to even buy them a coke, they will
tell me, Godwin, we can afford it. The reason is simple, tomorrow
we might not be here, anybody who comes and opens this file
will know that we did a good job, that was why it took so
long but at the end we were satisfied with the job done.
Managing delivery
We have spoken to the network operators so that our customers
are not disappointed. You cannot be in this terrain without
experiencing technical hitches once in a while, but what we
are expecting from them is for such to be minimized. Pin code
can be sent not only through text message, you call, you can
send physical card to the beneficiary, it will still accomplish
the same result.
Security management
The most important thing is to ensure the security of the
access code on the card, so that it does not get compromised.
We tell customers to secure the card the way they will secure
their money. If people start printing fake access code on
fake cards, the cards have a data bank of all the access codes
that makes it impossible to get compromised. That is why it
is important to buy from a branded dealer outfit, so that
if it is fake, you can return it to the source.
The branded outlets are everywhere. You can buy, stock and
pick to use whenever the need arises, so that you don’t
go looking for it every time you need to send money.
The future of intra-money transfer in Nigeria
With the reforms the CBN is carrying out, it will be the best
thing for Nigeria and Nigerians to move in that direction
and embrace cashless society. And on the new naira policy,
it is a good policy, people should allow economist to explain
how it is going to affect businesses and their lives. It is
not good to start criticizing before understanding what it’s
all about.
Torricellian Trust Limited
Torricellian Trust Limited is a wholly owned Nigerian company
registered with the Ministry of Commerce. The company is incorporated
with a specific mission to offer a fast electronic money transfer
alternate payment solution on e-commerce platform within Nigeria
via SMS and scratch card. The company is managed by a vastly
experienced group of indigenous and foreign professionals
of diverse fields.
Moneymanager
Torricellian Trust is the owner of Money Manager Instant Cash
Card Scheme. Money Manager Instant Cash is an instant cash
transfer mechanism whereby money is transferred from one place
to another within Nigeria via the internet and operated through
the MoneyManager Software.
The pin codes, on the scratch cards are tied to an amount
of money in naira and hosted in the web. The paying banks
(partner banks) via the internet are linked to the MoneyManager
platform (server) in other to authenticate the cards-pin codes
before payment is made.
This indigenous scheme is a fast and user friendly scheme
that cuts across class barriers with its denominations ranging
from N2,350 to N50,800, commission inclusive.
The product has evolved through a system, which makes money
transfer possible within and outside the banking environment.
The product is easy to use, readily available, simple, indigenous,
time saving and convenient. The sender does not have to go
to the bank to transfer money.
He seats in the comfort of his home or office, buys the card,
scratches and sends the codes to the recipient, who goes to
any of the member banks to redeem the money. He does not have
to be an account holder with any of the partnering banks to
redeem his money.
Product target
As a service company and broadly speaking, our clients are
the public. Anyone who has the need to transfer money is a
client. Our target market are the low, middle and high income
group, institutions who transfer funds, middle class, students,
business people and old relations at home. Some in this group
buy and send while others receive.
The business people can buy the cards instead of carrying
money to buy goods. Generally, our clients include anyone
or institution who engages in cash transfer, using the product
will go a long way to alleviate the problem associated with
armed robbery attacks on people carrying cash on them.
Though it is a technology driven financial solution, it cuts
across all the sectors of the economy in that it is a consumer
oriented service, everyone needs it.
Impact on IT sector and business environment
It is an e-commerce payment transfer scheme. It is an electronic
money transfer solution, which has a web-based application
that requires authentication from a server end. This means
transaction and confirmation of pins and codes are done on
the internet.
Telecommunications also play a vital role in the transaction
of our services, in that transaction can be done via SMS and
telephone calls. These are the channels used by the senders
to inform the recipients of the payment pins and pay codes
which the recipients in turn takes to the banks for redemption.
We have contributed positively to the Nigeria business environment
with the introduction of the product, which is a cutting edge
technology and innovation in the right direction. We are contributing
our quota to the economy by creating a financial based transfer
solution that is easy, fast and convenient. It is an economic
empowerment tool in that it will create wealth opportunities
and empowerment for the Nigeria work force.
Challenges
The major challenge we are facing as a new company is penetrating
the market or creating awareness for the product as a new
product and first of its kind. Though this is being taken
care of, we are deploying aggressive marketing strategies
to effectively connect with our target publics.
Our primary audience is broad. The age bracket of our target
audience is between 18 and 65, semi literates and literates.
We are embracing integrated marketing communication in promoting
the product and these consists of promotional mix such as
advertising, direct marketing, public relations, and interactive
media.
We also employ massive media advertising covering the newspapers,
radio stations and television stations. Part of the campaign
involves communication channels like bill boards, stickers,
standing display signs, pasting posters in strategic locations
and distribution of handbills. There will also be road shows
to create awareness and publicity. This has not proved to
be cheap ventures and is a major challenge to us.
Another challenge we face is getting credible liberal distributors
since our product are required by all. We need credible distributors
that have a large network to distribute our product all over
Nigeria. We initially had the challenge of convincing banks
to join the scheme but when we eventually did get some to
join, others were not difficult to convince anymore.
We are facing the challenge of running a business in Nigeria
with the epileptic power supply, levies, logistics, multiple
taxes .
Government policies
There are various government policies that affect business
positively or negatively. In our case we are indirectly affected
by policies made by government agencies that regulate the
financial institution.
Moneymanager is registered with the Federal Ministry of Commerce,
this body regulates the way the business of this organization
is carried out. It also ensures that we render services with
integrity to the public.
The Central Bank of Nigeria on the other hand evolves policies
that directly affect the business of the financial institutions.
We will look at a few of them and how they affect our business.
The drive for a cashless society propagated by Central Bank
is looking at moving the economy from a cash society to that
of a cashless one like in the western world.
Our product is aimed at reducing the volume of cash people
carry around. It also helps to mop up cash from the streets
into the banks with our low denominations which a lot of people
can afford from the vendors just like the GSM companies have
done. Invariably, the drive towards a cashless society is
a positive encouragement to us.
CBN’s policy of encouraging banks to open more branches
has helped increase the spread of our product since we can
only operate where our partnering banks have presence. By
encouraging the spread of banks, our product gets to more
people and more coverage.
The CBN as a regulating body reduced our highest denomination
from N100,000 to N50,000. The reason for this is that since
it is cash on the street, it would not be safe for the consumers
and vendors to have large denominations being sold on the
street. This is because the lower the denomination, customers
who want a larger volume may be restricted to the amount they
would want to buy.
Uniqueness
The major niche Moneymanager has created for Torricellian
Trust is that we are the first to provide such an e-commerce
money transfer scratch card. This has given us a place in
the e-commerce and e-payment sector of the Nigerian Financial
System.
Furthermore, it has made Torricellian Trust Limited a company
to be reckoned with especially now that banks partner with
us; it means we are a reliable and a reputable company with
integrity as our core value.
With the kind of acceptance we are getting from the public,
we believe Torricellian Trust Limited has come up with a trust
worthy financial solution that is in high demand and therefore
makes profit for the company.
Future of Torricellian Trust
The future of our company is to meet the broad objectives
we have set for ourselves, to surpass it and to keep impacting
positively on the Nigerian economy with our innovative and
cutting edge financial solutions that are wealth and employment
opportunities oriented.
This is to say it will be the leading financial alternate
payment solution provider and a company with superior value
propositions driven by excellence and integrity.
Relationship with financial institutions
Our product is an alternate payment solution and so is a financial
product. The banks are needed for redemption of the cards
on commission basis. Right now, we have three banks on board
as payment agents. They are Access Bank, Fidelity Bank and
Oceanic International Bank. We have plans to partner with
more banks on this project for a wider spread of the product.
The banks will also be used as selling centers too. |
