| RESALE 2010 |
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| BusinessForum Magazine |
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Download (2 MB) The 3nd Edition of the BusinessForum Magazine |
| Western Union, MoneyGram And The Nigerian Customer |
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Like in several industries, while there could be as many as 10 organisations currently engaged in the business, perhaps only two key players namely: Western Union and MoneyGram cash transfer services appear to have become household names in the nation’s financial setting as the others are still playing at the very fringe of the market. From the look of things, First Bank of Nigeria Plc seems to be leading the consortium of banks flying the Western Union banner, while UBA Plc is leading the group of banks pitching on the MoneyGram platform. Going by the volume of business and level of publicity campaign done by these organizations, no one is left in doubt that they have really enjoyed tremendous patronage from Nigerians within and outside the country, even when there exist an ample evidence to show that the cumulative effect of this relationship has helped several families meet some of their financial obligations at the home front. For instance, it is on record that these inflows have assisted most families to build homes, in addition to providing on a regular basis for the upkeep of the relations and aged parents. It is for this specialized service that some commentators believe that Western Union, MoneyGram and other cash remittance service companies can indeed, be said to have made significant contributions to the nation’s economy by facilitating the repatriation of funds from the Diaspora, even though they were always paid by consumers for such services. However, as the growth in consumer consciousness continues to increase across the world, observers of the cash remittance industry are also beginning to think that the Nigerian Western Union or MoneyGram customers deserve better bargain and more attention from the service providers. Despite their respective long history and the near monopoly status in the country today, the two organisations need to realise that competition and globalisation will have little or no regard for their credentials should they ignore the place of quality service to the Nigerian customer. While it could be admitted that competition has systemaically led to significant improvements in quality of products and sevices in most industries across the globe, there is an urgent need too, for financial services providers to also endeavour to upgrade their offering to the business community. For instance, it cannot be controverted that Western Union, which began as a telegraph company, has grown into a global leader in money transfer services. With an estimated $4billion in annual revenue ,which makes it a global and industry leader in money transfer services, the company’s actions and inactions can no longer be taken for granted by any serious observer having been in business for over150 years. It also lays claims to have provided consumers with financial choices, convenience and control through its over, 245,000 agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Similarly, MoneyGram on its part, says its services are available to the Nigerian clients by phone, agent locations and product. These services include, among others, MoneyGram money transfers, ExpressPayment bill payments, money orders, utility bill payments. Others are an excellent way to make financial payments, through the MoneyGram international network of approximately 100,000 agent locations worldwide. It advertises that customers around the globe can send money at attractive prices to recipients in 170 countries. Today, the company is offering customers in U.S. services that could enable them use the Internet to send money. The ExpressPayment is the smart way to pay auto, mortgage, credit card and utility bills fast, cheaper and conviniently. It is equally offering customers in that market segment the opportunity to effect payment through money order, a payment instrument that's a convenient alternative to a check. The recent history of the company shows it has made some fresh acquisitions involving new technology and expanding into Internet-based services which many believe would help it grow bigger in the next few years. It has become a high-performance payment services company that efficiently and economically moves money around the world or close to home. No doubt these are excellent records from a world class organisation, but if the reports from the customers of Western Union and MoneyGram are anything to go by, then, one may not be mistaken pressing for further improvements in their service delivery. There are ample evidence to prove that customer service delivery within Nigeria has been anything but satisfactory. Customers’ complaints, by our investigations, range from failure to pay customers promptly to inability to do so in the currency of choice, contrary to the directive by the Central Bank to that effect. Daily Sun reliably gathered that despite the number of banks branches regularly enlisted to provide the service, payments to customers are often not made promptly as advertised. Some customers are also bothered at the lack of courtesy by some paying cashiers in some of these agent banks, as matters that require simple explanation to customers, including such matters as pronounciation of the names of the senders or spelling of their names are often treated discourteously at point of payment, thereby makes the customer disgruntled. While it can be admitted that Nigeria has made some significant progress in educating its citizens over the past few years, the truth remains that majority of our population are still illiterates and these are the largest beneficiaries of international cash remittances into the country. With this outlook, many consumers have failed to demand their rights in terms of quality and other issues related to customer satisfaction. The recent discovery that three female officials in a branch of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, have allegedly been feeding fat from the proceeds of a scam in which foreign currency remittances to some Nigerians have been suppressed and converted by the culprits, is an eye opener. Although authorities of the bank claimed it alerted security operatives to investigate the scam before it came to the open, a claim that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) denied, the revelation from that stands as a good testimony of what the customers have been subjected to in the hands of an organization that ought to protect their interest. In these days of high cyber crime and massive fraud with respect to credit crime, it is an indication that Nigerian customer needs to be vigillant while dealing with the companies. Only recently, some cyber criminals illigally accessed MoneyGram server containing payment voucher for thousands of customers in Minneapolis, USA. If this could happen in the USA, with its high technological powers, one then wonders what would happen to the Nigerian customers. One strategic aspect of modern day customer service delivery is the desire by companies and service providers to give back to the society part of what they have gained from it by way of corporate social responsibility. In the case of Nigerians using the services of Western Union and MoneyGram, it may be difficult for anyone to clearly point out one area this vital obligation has been pronounced. Even when it seems to exist, the value to the customer is rather lost on him , to say the least. Over the years, Western Union is known to sponsor the annual Benin Egue festival, and to some extent, the Lagos Fanti Carnival, and this, it has counted as part of its corporate responsibility to its Nigerian customers. However, any careful assessment of the volume of business these companies enjoy in the country shows that they need to compel them to step up this meagre input in the area of social responsibility. Until recently, when the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, directed that customers should be paid in the currency of choice, some of the Western Union agent banks dictated the rate at which foreign currencies were converted and paid to customers, an indication that they may have made a lot of money from that sector. The records of this in the books of other players is still not known to most customers. However, unlike consumers in other lands, it does appear that Nigerians using the services of companies offering international cash transfer services have failed over the years to ask questions regarding their rights as consumers, even when there is an obvious flaw insevice quality. As expected, this laxity in consumer consciousness has led to the creation of foreign monopolies with the attendant high level of abuses such as would not be tolerated in the home state of the companies providing the services. Source: sunnewsonline |
Central Bank of Nigeria last week disclosed that the cumulative contributions of Nigerians in the Diaspora in 2006 was estimated at about $4.5billion.| < Prev | Next > |
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