| How MoneyManager card
denied robbers N8m loot
By SEUN ADESIDA
Saturday, January 3, 2009
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•Madumere
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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These, indeed, are good times for Nigerian companies, which
had been falling prey to unscrupulous activities of armed
robbers, who, with insider connivance, have been robbed within
the Lagos metropolis, especially whenever it is time to pay
workers’ salary. Indeed, last October, a company tried
something different by contracting MoneyManager Nigeria Limited
for MoneyManager scratch cards to the value of total salary
of its workers. The total package was about N8 million.
This was done without the knowledge of the workers of the
company. As usual, the bullion van came into the premises
of the company, dropped the boxes supposedly containing N8
million and went away. Not long after, robbers struck and
carted all the boxes.
The accountant of the company, Mrs. Shola Jakande, said: “Friday
October 24, would have marked my end as the Chief Accountant
of a this shipping company in Lagos, as hoodlums, acting on
a tip-off, stormed my office and carted away boxes containing
staff salaries.
“This harrowing experience would have dealt a hard blow
on the company’s account; save for the management’s
decision to pay its staff with an Instant Scratch Card known
as MoneyManager, as an alternative to cash, as the case had
been. The robbers would have congratulated themselves on the
success of their operation, without knowing that all they
had succeeded in grabbing was nothing but mere cards that
could be rendered inactive.
“As soon as the gunmen were out of sight, I immediately
gave a call to the Customer Service Department of Torricellean
Trust Limited, owners of MoneyManager Instant Scratch Card
and all the cards were blocked and subsequently replaced.
This rendered the stolen cards invalid and useless. Interestingly,
our members of staff went home beaming with smiles as their
salaries were not delayed or unpaid for one more day.”
To confirm the authenticity of the story, Saturday Sun went
after the Managing Director of Torricellean Trust Limited,
Mr. Godwin Madumere. He said: “It happened about the
middle of October in a shipping company; about N8million was
involved. The robbers came, stole all the boxes, thinking
they had made a good catch. Immediately they left, the company’s
accountant called our office. We blocked the cards; in other
words, the robbers were carrying ordinary papers in the boxes.”
Asked why the workers’ salaries were not paid into their
salary accounts, he said: “These are casual workers
working for the shipping company; you can only open account
for a permanent staff. Most of the casual workers preferred
to be paid in cash rather than in the banks because of the
difficulty in opening accounts with the banks. But with the
cards, you don't have to be a bank account holder before you
can use it.”
On cards availability, he said: “We are coming strong;
we have put finishing touches to our publicity campaign, which
is coming up very soon, and we are going to use all media
outlets to let Nigerians know about his product. You can only
find the cards in branded agents shops and banks, and you
can't find it in traffic like the common recharge cards.”
To make the product easily convertible, Madumere explained
that the company was partnering banks, “which includes
Access Bank, Fidelity Bank and Spring Bank, which we have
just signed partnership agreement with. We have also brought
National Sport Lottery (NSL) on board as partners; this is
strategic to their lottery business; they have their own point
of sale terminals; we are going to use their outlets to also
sell out cards.”
On the reach and expansion of the company, he said: “After
the successful deployment of MoneyManager cards in Nigeria,
we have made concrete arrangement to take the cards to Ghana
and Gambia, were we have a large population of Nigerians who
would like to send money directly to their loved ones without
the fraudulent exposure to what other money transfer service
offer Nigerians.”
He revealed that Nigerians, anywhere in the world, could now
use the cards to send money back home, but you can't use it
to send money out of Nigeria; this is because it is against
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulation.
On the future of the product, he said: “Very soon MoneyManager
is going to be a household name, both here in Nigeria and
some other parts of Africa. We anticipated the problems facing
other money transfer systems in Nigeria and that is one of
the reasons we came up with MoneyManager. Money Manager is
secure and safe for both the benefactor and the beneficiary.”
Asked how secure MoneyManager cards were, the company boss
said: “One of the security features on MoneyManager
cards is the PIN and PAY Numbers; these codes are only known
or transferred directly to the beneficiary; once you present
the PIN at any of the designated banks and you produce the
PAY number, you must be paid; the cashier cannot ask for your
PAY number without confirming the PIN on the bank's payment
system. If the bank fails to get your PIN, you cannot go to
another bank to make claim; you must return to the first bank
of contact to make your claims. This is to protect the customer
as well as the bank.”
Madumere explained to Saturday 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’s approve his pet project to solve the
problem of militancy and pipeline vandalisation in the Niger-Delta
failed.
Therefore, to escape the vicious circle of frustration, he
stumbled on the idea, which today has become a company that
has revolutionized 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
Nigerian work force.
Background
I went to school in Nigeria and overseas. I have a master’s
degree 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.
We were curbing vandalisation of pipelines in South Africa;
that was one of the things that brought me to Nigeria. We
wanted 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 the chips would pick any movement,
from a few meters.
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 be sent to mobile lines of all security personnel involved
in the project.
It would equally alert NNPC, and you will see the movement
of the criminals approaching the pipeline and their location.
After that, helicopters and vehicles would 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 Chief
Olusegun 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 had worked
with Western Union in South Africa. It took us three years
to get everything verified and check the security aspect of
it. The CBN saw the entire job we have done with the banks
and the public before it gave us the nod to go ahead with
the product.
So, in partnership with one other person, we started working
on how it would work within our system. During our research,
we discovered that there were some areas where you have these
cards, but it is within the banks. We had to look at how we
could 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 was
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 Moneymanager 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 N2,000, N5,000, 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
The next thing was how to make this thing work. We discovered
we needed software. The idea needed good software to drive
it. Without this software, it was just a paper idea. I had
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 Moneymanager.
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 would demand something to make the verification
process shorter, but there was nothing like that. They won’t
allow me to even buy them a bbottle of Coke; they told me
they could afford it.
Managing delivery
We have spoken to the network operators, so that our customers
would not be 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 can make a
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 make 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
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.
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 order 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 was 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.
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 markets are the low, middle and high income
groups, institutions which transfer funds; middle class, students,
business people and old relations at home. Some in these groups
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.
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 plays a vital role in the transaction
of our services, in that transaction could 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 Nigerian 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 Nigerian 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,
and multiple taxes .
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
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.
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