How Opay and Moniepoint Dominated the Agency Banking Industry.
These two fintech companies are no doubt the most commonly used pos in Nigeria. Out of Every 20 pos agents, you meet 75% to 80% of them are either using Opay or Moniepoint. Well the major reason behind their domination in agency banking is based on three things which are
- Network
- Feature
- Charges
Before the boom of the agency banking business, charges placed on each transaction by other pos companies are very high which affects the charges agents will charge their customers for each transaction made by them. They charge as high as 0.65% to 0.7% for every approved withdrawal transaction, and to worsen matters there is no flat charge like 100 Naira for 20k upward, which means if a customer is to withdraw 100k pos company will charge 600naira excluding agent charges.
But when Opay launched their agency banking platform the first thing they did was to make their pos free for agents who are interested. Then slash the charges from 0.6% to 0.5% from 1 to 19,999 and 100 Naira flat from 20k above. Against their competitor’s charges which is 0.6% for every withdrawal transaction.
The same technique was also used by Moniepoint even they are not well known like Opay. Moniepoint introduced the checking of bank account features and also the refund feature for failed withdrawal transactions. In terms of charges, it was the same with Opay but their pos was given lease to an agent who can meet target. This made agents think twice before getting one, although their network is incredibly good.
The only advantage that Opay has over Moniepoint is the bill payment commission, Moniepoint doesnt give commission when you pay any bill. You only make your profit from what extra charges you charge the customer.
Both pos are target based Moniepoint is 50k on withdrawal transaction. While Opay Is 100k for Opay is 100k for pos and 50k for Mpos.
In terms of features, they both check customer account balance. You can also request for refund on both platforms when customers are being debited